Thread by @NOlympicsLA

The Olympics don’t just harm black athletes — they rip apart black communities in Olympic host cities as well.

Let’s look at LA84 for an example. 🧵

The 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles are frequently trotted out as a “best case scenario” for a host city — a profitable, efficiently run showcase of American values.

This is a lie.

The ’84 Olympics caused one of the greatest periods of injustice, oppression, and social unrest in L.A. history, culminating in the 1992 Uprising.

During and after the 1984 Olympics, incidents of police brutality were on the rise.

In the 1980s, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office stopped investigating complaints against LAPD officers, providing cover for police to use violence against poor people and people of color. articles.latimes.com/1991-07-07/new…

During the “Olympic Gang Sweeps,” Police Chief Daryl Gates arrested and incarcerated thousands of Angelenos of color on phony gang suspicion charges.

These Olympic Sweeps were the beginning of fascist “special divisions” within LAPD — Operation Hammer and C.R.A.S.H. (“Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums,” responsible for the notorious Rampart scandal) are two of the most infamous.

latimes.com/archives/la-xp…

Criminalization of the unhoused was also ramped up. The city’s anti-homeless laws were passed in 1982 in preparation for the games; These often unconstitutional statutes are still used to harass and over-police the city’s unhoused population.

la.curbed.com/2018/7/12/1745…

24,684 mostly African-American Youths were swept up in Operation Hammer in the 80’s & detained at the Coliseum.

100 helicopters were brought in to surveil LA during the 1984 Olympics.

The estimated cost of policing for the 84 Olympics was $200 Million.
deadspin.com/the-1984-olymp…

The LASD loved having the Olympics around too. They even made a 30 minute video to commemorate the occasion, which you can see at their own YouTube channel

(Go to 35:35 to see how very, very, hard the sheriffs worked during the games)

LAPD’s militarization was already unprecedented before 1984.After the Games’ Closing Ceremonies, things got worse. In February 1985, LAPD turned their new tank and its massive battering ram against communities of color.

In one stark case they even destroyed a house that they claimed was being used to manufacture drugs, only to find two women eating ice cream and a dime bag of pot.

washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-h…

There is a straight line from the expansion of police terror for LA84 to the ’92 uprisings (beyond just the LAPD using LA84 funded equipment to terrorize LA residents during the uprisings).

As sports writer Dave Zirin writes:

“There was an accelerant that started the city on the road to rebellion, and it’s what is regarded to this day as one of the city’s most shining moments: the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.”

thenation.com/article/archiv…

Think it will be different this time around?

We don’t.

It's not just a hunch.

LAPD has already demanded 3,000 more full-time, permanent officers for LA28.

LASD has demanded 500 more sheriffs.

Both LAPD and LASD will be allowed to freely collaborate with DHS (so ICE, CBP, et al) via COPPSC and the NSSE.

pickasidela.com