Getty Firefighters, Los Angeles Police Department officers, Los Angeles Sheriff deputies and United States Coast Guard cadets during a moment of silence at a remembrance ceremony for the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Protesters outside a hospital where two Los Angeles deputies were “fighting for their lives” after an ambush shouted “We hope they die,” according to video and official statements. One of the two people arrested was Reporter Josie Huang, who was documenting the protests.
The protest blocked the entrance and exit to the emergency room, and two people were arrested, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff.
The two deputies, whose identities have not yet been released, were shot multiple times when they were sitting in a patrol vehicle outside the Compton train station Saturday night. Read more about that here. Police released video of the shooting in hopes of identifying the suspect, who was still at large Sunday afternoon.
Here’s what you need to know:
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputies Demanded Protesters Stop Blocking the Hospital Entrance & Arrested 2 People
Video from the LA hospital protest shows protesters shouting outside the St. Francis Medical Center, where two deputies were being treated for multiple gunshot wounds. The protesters chanted, shouted and “oinked” while blocking the entrance to the hospital. At one point, the protesters tried to get inside the emergency room, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The video shows the protesters shouting “f*** the police” and “We hope you die.” One protester told an officer responding to the protest, “That’s why you all die one by one.”
It was not clear how many people were involved in the protest, but the group in the video appeared to be small.
LASD tweeted during the protest, asking the protesters to stop blocking the emergency room entrance and exit.
“To the protesters blocking the entrance & exit of the HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM yelling ‘We hope they die’ referring to 2 LA Sheriff’s ambushed today in #Compton: DO NOT BLOCK EMERGENCY ENTRIES & EXITS TO THE HOSPITAL. People’s lives are at stake when ambulances can’t get through,” LA County Sheriffs wrote on Twitter.
They later provided an update on the protest, saying two people were arrested. Deputies issued a dispersal order for the group, declaring the protest an unlawful assembly because they were blocking the hospital entrance and exit. One person refused to leave, according to deputies. When deputies placing him in custody, they said a woman ran toward them and tried to interfere with the arrest.
Both the man and woman were arrested. The woman was a member of the press, which officials said she did not tell them at the time of the arrest, and said she did not have press credentials on her person.
The woman was later identified as Josie Huang, KPCC and LAist reporter. She shared video of the arrest, in which she identified herself as a reporter and said she was wearing a press badge. Read more about the arrest and see her account, including video of the arrest, here. Another KPCC Reporter, Frank Stoltze, tweeted Huang captured audio of the arrest in which she identified herself as a reporter and said “You’re hurting me.”
KTLA reported she was booked for obstruction of justice, a misdemeanor, and released from custody a few hours later. Huang said she was trying to document the arrest, according to LAist, which also said she was wearing press credentials at the time.
ABC 7 captured a video of the arrest. Reporters said she rushed up to the scene to see what was going on, and deputies arrested her. A badge, which appears to be a press badge, can be seen around her neck.
LASD wrote on Twitter:
#LASD Century Sheriff’s Station Watch Commander reports the following: After deputies issued a dispersal order for the unlawful assembly of a group of protesters blocking the hospital emergency entrance & exits, a male adult protester refused to comply & cooperate… During his arrest, a struggle ensued at which time a female adult ran towards the deputies, ignored repeated commands to stay back as they struggled with the male and interfered with the arrest…The female adult, who was later identified as a member of the press, did not identify herself as press and later admitted she did not have proper press credentials on her person. Both individuals have been arrested for 148 P.C.
Penal Code 148 is a charge of resisting arrest or obstructing officers, according to the California Crime Code. It carries a maximum punishment of a $1,000 fine and one year in jail if convicted.
Reprehensible witness reaction video of the 2 officers being shot point blank.
Another video drew controversy after some said a man showed excitement after apparently witnessing the deputies being ambushed and seriously injured.
“It goes down in Compton!” he said.
As one of the deputies stumbled out of the patrol car, the man said the deputy was “on his knees.”
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