As the Occupy movement grows, it will only get more difficult to police the protests. In preparation for the latest raid, LAPD detectives went undercover in order to infiltrate the Occupy LA protests. Check out the details…
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police used nearly a dozen undercover detectives to infiltrate the Occupy LA encampment before this week’s raid to gather information on protesters’ intentions, according to media reports Friday.
None of the officers slept at the camp, but tried to blend in during the weeks leading up to the raid to learn about plans to resist or use weapons against police, a police source told the Los Angeles Times. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.
The undercover work yielded information that some protesters were preparing bamboo spears and other potentially dangerous weapons in advance of an expected eviction by the LAPD, none of which were used, according to City News Service which first reported the story.
Police downplayed the significance of the undercover work since Occupy meetings were public and easily tracked.
LAPD Officer Cleon Joseph declined an Associated Press request for comment on the reports.
Occupy L.A. protester Mario Brito told City News Service he was not surprised by the revelation, but said it was “tantamount to 1950s McCarthyism.”
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SOURCE: [AP]
Do you think the LAPD is handling this situation correctly? Do you think they should have gone undercover? Let us know.
