Members of the Los Angeles Police Department then used batons and rubber bullets in a manner later found by the LAPD's own investigation, as well as by the courts, to be excessive.
[citation needed] The protesters defied the police requests and began gathering in larger numbers on the street.
[5] 27 marchers and 9 members of the media were injured, 5 people were arrested,[6] and at least 50 civilians filed complaints with the LAPD regarding mistreatment by officers.
[9] Patti Ballaz, a camerawoman for KTTV who was injured, filed a claim for unspecified damages against the city and the police department.
"[14] Los Angeles city council member Herb Wesson, whose district includes neighborhoods near MacArthur Park, criticized the police response by comparing it to beating of civil rights leaders in the South in the 1960s.
"[15] Fabian Núñez, Speaker of the California Assembly whose district includes MacArthur Park where the events took place, condemned the actions of the police by saying "To say we are outraged is an understatement ... We want those responsible in the highest levels of the LAPD to pay consequences.
[6] On May 17, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a request Archived June 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine with U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess to look into whether the incident at MacArthur Park violated a 2001 consent decree which was a result of the Rampart scandal.
According to Bratton, the main reasons for the mêlée were "a command and control breakdown," [which] began at the planning stages and dominoed throughout the event itself".
Cayler "Lee" Carter, who was a deputy chief and the highest-ranking official at scene, was demoted to commander and assigned home duty.
[23][25] On May 9, the Multi-Ethnic Immigrant Workers Organizing Network filed a class-action suit against the Los Angeles Police Department and the city.
[6] Over a year later, on July 8, 2008, the LAPD announced "that 17 officers and two sergeants from the department's elite Metropolitan Division should be punished for their roles in [the incident]".