BURNT IN CELEBRATION A firefighter puts out the fire of a bus at Sunset and Echo Park after people gathered on the street for a spontaneous celebration. —AP
No Filipinos were reported to have been arrested or victimized in looting or violence that broke out in central Los Angeles after the Los Angeles Dodgers won the baseball World Series on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).
The Associated Press reported that rowdy crowds took to the streets of Los Angeles after the Dodgers won the World Series, setting a city bus on fire, breaking into stores, and lighting off fireworks in the Echo Park area.
Echo Park is adjacent to the historic Filipinotown, which used to host a large community of Filipinos from the 1920s to the 1940s.
READ: Violence, looting erupt in LA after Dodgers win World Series
Most ethnic Filipinos, however, have spread all over Los Angeles County, becoming the largest population of Filipinos in any metropolitan area outside of the Philippines.
According to the US Census Bureau, there were approximately 499,851 people of Filipino ancestry living in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area in 2019.
Despite some unrest, “the overwhelming majority of celebrations last night were joyful and peaceful,” Mayor Karen Bass said at a Thursday news conference discussing the logistics of Friday’s planned victory parade.
“We will work to keep Angelenos safe as always,” Bass said, emphasizing that “violence of any kind will not be tolerated.”
A dozen arrests were reported by police on Thursday, but officials emphasized that most fans celebrated peacefully.
Overexcited
Video showed revelers throwing objects at police in downtown LA as sirens blared and officers told them to leave the area late Wednesday after the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in Game 5 in New York.
Another video showed someone standing atop a bus waving a Dodgers banner and people running from a boarded-up Nike store with armfuls of sneakers before throwing the merchandise into cars parked outside. No injuries were reported.
Officials said the Los Angeles Police Department will be on high alert throughout the week to protect communities and businesses in the city, which has been the site of previous unrest after championship wins by both the Lakers and the Dodgers.
Suspects charged
LAPD spokesperson Officer Drake Madison said arrests were on charges such as failure to disperse, receiving stolen property, or commercial burglary, Madison said.
There were also several instances of street takeovers downtown and police used less-lethal munitions to control several hostile and violent crowds, Madison said. In the coming days, detectives will attempt to identify those responsible for crimes, he said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said his deputies would be on full alert for various events, including the celebrations of the Dodgers’ win, Halloween festivities, and the upcoming elections.
He urged fans to not shoot off illegal fireworks, take over intersections, or spin out cars, all of which happened Wednesday night.
“The individuals that were involved in that last night was a very small segment of the east Los Angeles community because most of them were out celebrating because they love their Dodgers,” Luna said.
The Dodgers plan to commemorate their championship Friday with a downtown parade followed by a celebration at Dodger Stadium. The team said Wednesday that because of logistics, traffic, and timing, fans won’t be able to attend both events.
The parade was expected to include members of the Dodgers traveling atop double-decker buses along a 45-minute route on city streets.
Officials urged people to work from home and to use public transportation when possible on Friday. —AP