Los Angeles Police Commission holds public meeting after excessive force protests

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Protesters who took to the streets of Los Angeles following fatal police-involved incidents in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City voiced their concerns at a L.A. Police Commission hearing Tuesday.

Many Angelenos vented their frustration during the meeting, which was the first held since more than 300 people were arrested on the streets of downtown L.A. over three days following a grand jury decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson.

"I was arrested the day before Thanksgiving and I did nothing but exercise my right," said protestor Shalana Little. "I need those charges to be dropped."

"The violence was not incited by protesters but by the police," said one attendee.

A few people interrupted the meeting several times and began talking from the audience. Steve Soboroff, the president of the city Police Commission, told them that was not allowed.

"That's the process, that's what's called mutual respect, and that's what we're going to have here. If you talk again, I'm going to ask that you leave," Soboroff said.

In addition, a rally was also held against the use of drones by the Los Angeles Police Department. Organizers say it's all part of the department's pattern of civil rights violations.

"There's no question that Los Angeles struggles with community distrust of law enforcement and that distrust forms the community's fear of police surveillance technology like drones," said Jessica Farris, the Southern California spokesperson for American Civil Liberties Union.

The LAPD received drones from the Seattle Police Department and is studying the issue, but says, at this moment, it's not using them.

People at the meeting told commissioners they simply want more accountability.

"We're asking for concrete measures such as body cameras and more training for officers on defusing tense situations without violence," said one attendee.

Soboroff approves of the way officers handled the protests.

"I think that the people who are objecting have a court system to go through, one at a time, and can take their grievances," Soboroff said, adding that the LAPD is a model across the country for community policing, but that, during these times, it needs to continue to build trust in the community.