Bloody Christmas was the severe beating of seven civilians by members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on December 25, 1951.
[3] Despite the reforms, the LAPD was faced with a continual deterioration in relations with the Mexican American community since the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots during the Second World War.
Problems occurred because of anti-Mexican sentiment among LAPD officers, many of whom believed Mexican Americans were generally delinquent and violent.
That racial profiling led to numerous violent encounters between the police and Mexican Americans because each side expected the other to use force.
[1] On Christmas Eve 1951, LAPD officers Julius Trojanowski and Nelson Brownson responded to a report that minors were drinking alcohol at the Showboat Bar on Riverside Drive.
[6] While the seventh, Daniel Rodela, was dragged to a squad car by his hair and driven to the city's Elysian Park, where he was savagely beaten by several police officers.
When they became aware of a rumor that Trojanowski had lost an eye in the fight, the drunken officers decided to avenge their fellow policeman.
The initial headline of the Los Angeles Times on the incident was "Officers Beaten in Bar Brawl; Seven Men Jailed".
[1] The prosecution argued that the fight started when the officers asked Jack Wilson to leave the bar peacefully.
[1] However, as the internal investigation into the beatings progressed, more complaints from other incidents were reported by the media, forcing Parker to act.
[1] The report was also contradictory because it revealed that several police officers witnessed the beatings but concluded that "none of the prisoners was physically abused in the manner alleged.