Police fighting with protesters at MacArthur Park *

Video posted on Buzznet shows Los Angeles police squaring off tonight with protesters who were not dispersing on Alvarado Street. Just before 9 pm, the video shooter writes, the police line charged; lots of screaming and cursing is heard, and in later videos protesters break glass on bus shelters and there may be gunshots. The 22-year-old video poster (he calls himself panasonicyouth) writes:

Perhaps one of the most frightening things I've ever seen, the police storm the protestors again for the second time. Watch closely; you'll see one Hispanic male start to run, and then you'll see the LAPD pick one guy and begin to hail him with clubs and kicks. He falls to the ground, assumes the fetal position, and continues to get beat/kicked for another 10-15 seconds. Watch the LAPD and the sheriffs throw people out of the way who try to come to this guy's aid. He was bleeding quite a bit from his head, but I couldn't get close enough to film that. One of the sheriff's had a billy club pointed at me.

The worst part of this video is when the group who are helping the wounded man out of the way. Watch closely and you can see an LAPD officer run in and hit an innocent good samaritan with his/her club. Disgusting."

A few minutes later he posts a new video, with this commentary:

Immediately after the last video, I begin to film the LAPD who come south on Alvarado on motorcycles. Their method of clearing the street is to drive head on with people, threatening to run them over. You can see them nearly hit a protestor on the right side of the street who is right next to the sidewalk.

Immediately after this, the protestors begin to freak out. You can still hear the girl from the previous video screaming about the guy getting beat. Then someone smashes in the glass of a bus stop and all hell breaks loose. People start running, screaming, breaking glass, and causing general mayhem...

His post at 10:43 pm:

More glass/windows/bus stops are broken all around me, on all sides. And you can't see it, but you can see people running. You might be able to hear it a bit, but there are two gunshots towards the end and I turn off the video and we all start running.

Buzznet is a Los Angeles-based photo and video community site that was founded, incidentally, in the American Cement lofts facing MacArthur Park at the corner of Wilshire and Park View.

* Update: (Tuesday 1:10 am) The LAT's main protest story says that two men were arrested in a face-off with police after Monday's protests, but doesn't say where.

Photo: Buzznet.com