Before Game 7 of the World Series even went to extra innings, Los Angeles police officers were already threatening to arrest and shoot “less-lethal” munitions at Dodgers fans who were watching the game on an Ipad outside of The Douglas, a bar in Echo Park.
“We need to break up this assembly. If you do not do so, you may be arrested or subject to other police action,” an LAPD incident commander announced over a loudspeaker at around 8 p.m., while people cheered on L.A.’s championship baseball team. “Other police actions may include the use of kinetic energy projectiles and/or chemical agents, such as foam baton rounds or tear gas.”
During a Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners meeting, LAPD Assistant Chief Dominic Choi said that The Douglas and other bars were shut down by the fire department “due to overcrowding.”
Johnny Jeltema, a co-owner of The Douglas, told L.A. TACO that police said they were over the permitted capacity of their parking lot, where 100 or so Dodgers fans were watching the game on an outdoor television.
“They instructed us to turn off our outside TVs, so the crowd would disperse,” said Jeltema. “Once our TVs were turned off outside (again, instructed by LAPD) we were not told any further details, including regarding an unlawful assembly. We were too busy with running the business to concentrate on the game or LAPD.”