medpot-raid

In yet another layer of controversy for Long Beach’s battle over the city’s medical marijuana dispensaries, a video posted on YouTube this week reportedly shows Long Beach Police Officers using excessive force while raiding a local dispensary.

The raid occurred June 19 at the THC Downtown Collective, an example of what LPBD Chief Jim McDonnell calls “rogue” collectives, or dispensaries operating without the benefit of the temporary exemptions.

The video shows an unidentified LBPD officer stepping on the neck of a compliant collective-management member, who is lying facing down as per police instructions. The LBPD told the LA Weekly it will conduct “a thorough review into what occurred during that operation once all of the facts have been collected.”

This is not the first time the LBPD has been accused of using excessive force during dispensary raids. Regarding a series of raids last summer, Judge Patrick T. Madden called LBPD practices “strong-arm tactics” in knocking in the doors of collectives without warrants or exigent circumstances to do so legally.

The video of the June 19 raid also shows LBPD officers smashing security cameras, a tactic Drug Enforcement Administration agents were caught employing in 2008 when they raided a collective in the East Village Arts District.