[dropcap size=big]L[/dropcap]os Angeles city prosecutors on Thursday offered to drop charges against a prominent black professor and civil rights leader who allegedly tugged at the arm of an LAPD officer during an emotional and tumultuous Police Commission meeting.
Dr. Melina Abdullah, a co-founder and lead organizer of Black Lives Matter in Los Angeles, faced eight misdemeanor charges for assault, resisting arrest, and disrupting a public meeting stemming from the incident last May. But the activist leader and her supporters say the charges were overblown and Abdullah was targeted for her outspoken criticism of the LAPD’s use of force.
She could have faced a year or more in jail.
Victory for Dr. Melina Abdullah (@docmellymel), Chair of @PanAfricans at #CalStateLA. #FreeMelina #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/7OB687oqAq
— CCC at Cal State LA (@CCCatCalStateLA) February 7, 2019