Community activists storm LA court to oppose gang injunctions

Brian Charles (Daily Breeze) | August 21, 2013

Long heralded as D-Day for grass-roots activists opposed to the use of civil gang injunctions, two court hearings held Wednesday at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles were short on fireworks and heavy on procedure.

In the first instance, the city of Inglewood sought to ban alleged members of four street gangs from the neighborhoods where they live.

Targeted were: Inglewood 13, Neighborhood Pirus, Family Gangster Bloods and Centinela Park street gangs. A prior injunction in Inglewood covers almost the entire city. After a closed-door procedural hearing Wednesday morning, the matter was ordered back before Judge Mark Mooney on Oct. 23.

Down the hall in a second hearing, Judge Abraham Khan approved a motion that allows the city of Los Angeles to serve civil complaints to known members of the Big Top Locos, Echo Park Locos, Diamond Street Locos, Crazys, Frog Town and Headhunters street gangs and would creates a safe zone that covers Echo Park, Elysian Valley and portions of Silver Lake. The serving of the complaints precedes a gang injunction.

Despite packing the courtroom with protesters angered by the use of gang injunctions, organizers from the Youth Justice Coalition were disappointed that Khan didn’t allow them to speak out in court against the injunction.

“There were 150 people down here that opposed the injunctions and they were denied the chance to speak out in court,” said Kim McGill, organizer with the Youth Justice Coalition, an Inglewood nonprofit opposed to the use of gang injunctions.

Since the protesters were not named in the civil complaint against the gang they are not able to speak in court, officials said.

Attorney Donald Hammond, who stepped in on behalf of the Echo Park street gangs minutes before Wednesday’s motion hearing, pleaded with Khan for more time to file an appeal. Khan denied the plea.

And while Khan granted the city of Los Angeles’ motion he said both sides need to engage in talks prior to Sept. 11, the next court date in the city of Los Angeles’ effort to seek an Echo Park gang injunction.

“I would urge the city attorney to speak with you and anyone who wants to speak with the city attorney about this case,” Khan said.

City Attorney Mike Feuer said he would meet with any attorney representing the defendants on the Echo Park injunction. Hammond has not decided whether he will take the case going forward.

For weeks McGill and other organizers have been holding rallies, forums and public meetings building up to Wednesday when they planned to show their outrage for both injunctions. They left the building concerned that the grass-roots movement built over months, could fizzle as lawyers for the cities of Inglewood and Los Angeles wait out the opposition.

“If they come in here quietly with no one showing up in opposition they can easily get these injunctions,” she said. “Remember, these lawyers have full-time jobs and salaries to put in place these injunctions.”