Death of LAPD suspect not going away

Police in riot gear arrived in force tonight at the Ramona Gardens housing project where tensions are running high over the death in custody of Mauricio Cornejo, a 31-year-old parolee and gang suspect. Three people have told the Times they saw officers using batons on Cornejo after he was handcuffed. One woman said she saw him being dragged down a hallway at the Hollenbeck station and kicked while cuffed. Shortly after, paramedics came to the station and began treating him but he died. The LAPD offered a more detailed version of Cornejo's arrest but it apparently does not address whether he was struck while handcuffed. The police presence tonight was at a car-wash fundraiser for Cornejo's funeral, the LAT says. Eventually the crowd dispersed and the cops left. Here's the LAPD blog entry on his arrest.