It’s not unheard of when cops start shooting indiscriminately during protests, especially in the recent LA “No Kings” protest. Some might even say that these indiscriminate rubber bullet shootings have gotten a bit common– so common that even cops themselves have started shooting one another in a crossfire before realizing they were on the same side in the LA protest.
The incident happened in Grand Park in Los Angeles, California, between the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) over the No Kings protest weekend. Several instances of the police shooting at one another have surfaced online, with the most notable among them being verified over a police communication on the radio.
Thankfully, this interaction among the police has been uploaded on YouTube, and you can hear the first incident of police friendly fire at around 4:55 PM, with many other similar incidents afterward. Police radio chatter indicated that the LASD was hitting the LAPD with rubber bullets and tear gas.
“Hold your g*****n crossfire here! Blue blue!…
We’re still taking gas and less-lethal munitions from the Sheriffs over on Temple and Main.” according to the LA Captain’s radio archive, courtesy of LA Public Press
“Blue blue” is most likely a contraction of blue-on-blue, which means the police are hitting one another in the crossfire. Here’s the full record, starting with the friendly fire incident:
The friendly fire incidents occurred since both the LASD and LAPD were on opposite sides of the road as they tried to corral the LA protesters. Some of them, apparently the sheriffs, overshot their rubber bullets and tear gas canisters to the side of the LAPD.
So far, neither police department has reported any officers sustaining any injuries. LASD even claimed that the police did not fire indiscriminately, contrary to LAPD’s radio reports, and also contrary to what was caught on this video, where a tear gas canister hit the police ranks:
Not a Good Look for the Police
Of course, being law enforcement officers, the police have come under heavy scrutiny from the public eye, not just for dispersing the protest crowd but also for what others can only assume as incompetence on their side, including the friendly fire between LA cops. Many comments have since made fun of the lack of coordination from the LASD and LAPD.
Either side was lucky, of course, that the bullets were “less-lethal”; actual lead bullets might have resulted in more apparent friendly fire casualties. Some were also pointing out that the police didn’t even need to disperse the crowd and use “less lethal” force because the crowd would’ve left anyway after the No Kings protest.
“The level of incompetence is stunning. If they had waited, 95% of the people would have dispersed without issue. Instead, they created chaos,” claims Sleep_adict
“I’m no fan of rubber bullets and tear gas, but if they have to be used against someone, LAPD is probably the best target possible,” jokes IlIllIlllIlllIllllI
“But they’re ‘less lethal‘ rounds? They’re fine shooting them at protesters so they must be safe right? Especially with all that armor,” according to Frequent_Policy8575
“blue on blue crime,” says Detective-Crashmore-
“Thoughts and prayers,” prays TheWitch-of-November
