Arrests made on 3rd night of Los Angeles protests

photo A protestor is handcuffed and taken away by a police officer after the arrest of a small group of protesters who sat down in a bus lane alongside the U.S. 101 near downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 26, 2014.

LOS ANGELES - Police arrested dozens of demonstrators who refused to disperse Wednesday on the third night of protests over a decision not to bring criminal charges against Ferguson, Missouri policeman for killing a black man.

About 200 largely peaceful demonstrators crisscrossed downtown streets for several hours in the afternoon and evening before some were finally stopped by a phalanx of riot-clad police near the Central Library.

The demonstrators had marched to a federal building and police headquarters but they were turned away after heading toward the county jail and then the Staples Center arena.

Lt. Andy Neiman said an unlawful assembly was declared after some marchers began walking in the street and disrupting traffic. They were ordered to disperse but instead reformed, with police trying to corral them.

"It was sort of leap-frog. They kept moving...block by block," and some ran through courtyards, Neiman said.

There was a brief, tense confrontation where a handful of demonstrators screamed at officers, who held raised batons.

Finally, squads of police ringed and began arresting around 60 remaining protesters for failure to disperse, Neiman said.

The protesters appeared calm as they were handcuffed with plastic bands and walked to a waiting Sheriff's Department bus.

Most were expected to be released after posting $500 bail for the misdemeanor. However, those unable to pay the bail could remain jailed through the Thanksgiving weekend pending scheduled Monday court hearings, authorities said.

Earlier Wednesday, nine people were arrested after they sat down in a bus lane on U.S. 101 near downtown during one of the busiest driving days of the year.

More than 200 protesters have been arrested over the past three days by Los Angeles police and California Highway Patrol officers.

James Lafferty, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, said the process of releasing them was going slowly because of the sheer number of people and initial efforts to collect the bail and process fingerprints.

Lafferty also said his group had contacted both the LAPD and city attorney's office to argue that arrests made Tuesday night were unlawful and no charges should be filed.

On Monday and Tuesday, police officers escorted protesters and even blocked traffic as they marched through the streets for hours and stopped at intersections, Lafferty said.

"Protesters had every reason to believe ... when in the street they would not be arrested," Lafferty said.

State law requires an officer to witness a person committing a misdemeanor for which they're arrested, but in many cases officers merely arrested people gathered in the vicinity, said Lafferty, whose members work as observers and often represent protesters in litigation.

Police "just arrested everybody," he said. "I think they owe all those people an apology."

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