Stun Grenades, Pepper Balls, Tear Gas: Details Of The LA Police Crackdown

Tensions escalated in Los Angeles as authorities used tear gas, stun grenades and batons to disperse protesters demonstrating against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. The city has been witnessing protests for almost a week.

According to the New York Post, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and California Highway Patrol fired around 600 baton rounds to break up the ongoing protest. They also released pepper balls, which release pepper spray, causing irritation in the eyes, nose and throat.

The police officers also used batons made of wood, metal, or polycarbonate to strike demonstrators, to control the crowd. Over 200 people were arrested on Tuesday after Mayor Karen Bass imposed a citywide curfew in the city.

Dr Rohini Haar, a medical adviser for Physicians for Human Rights, said these weapons could be extremely dangerous. She said, "All of these weapons have caused deaths. Stun grenades, projectiles, tear gas, all of them."

Kieren Doyle, a senior researcher and educator from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, said that the current situation in Los Angeles was the most intense and serious clash between protesters and police since the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

The protests began after ICE conducted a series of immigration raids in the city. The following day, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order without California Governor Gavin Newsom's approval to send 2,000 National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles. 

Later, he issued an order for the deployment of an additional 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to curb the protests against his immigration policies.

On Wednesday, protesters targeted multiple stores, including Apple, Adidas, a nearby jewellery store, marijuana shops, and a pharmacy, in the downtown area. They smashed the windows of the Apple Store on Broadway, stole multiple devices and spray-painted things like F**k ICE and other graffiti on the windows and walls of the Japanese American Museum.

Mr Trump hit out at California Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for not managing the situation properly in the city and asked them to apologise to the people for doing a terrible job. The Trump administration has told California officials that ICE raids would continue in LA till next month.