Particle.news
Download on the App Store

U-Haul Driver Who Entered Westwood Protest Says Police Waved Him In

Police booked him on a misdemeanor reckless-driving charge.

Overview

  • Calor Madanescht says he intended to join the demonstration and followed an officer’s signal onto Veteran Avenue.
  • Video shows the truck moving through a crowd before protesters swarmed it, with some smashing the windshield and jabbing inside with flagpoles.
  • The driver says he was assaulted and displayed injuries including a bandaged hand, a cut on his ear, bruises and black eyes.
  • LAPD took him into custody on suspicion of reckless driving, he was later released on his own recognizance, and the case remains under review.
  • Accounts from people at the scene diverge, with one witness saying the driver was beaten while another questioned the claim that police allowed the truck onto the occupied street.