It was planned as a peaceful day of mourning for a Watts neighborhood matriarch many knew simply as “Mama Curtis.”
Instead, attendees said, a memorial in Watts over the weekend for 94-year-old Earlene Curtis descended into chaos when Los Angeles police officers swarmed the block where the gathering took place. Cellphone video showed the officers wielding batons and shoving people down before hauling someone away on what the LAPD later said was a felony arrest warrant.
The LAPD response has drawn outrage from Curtis’ family, Watts residents and the local city council member’s office, who said the overwhelming show of force was unwarranted on a night when mourners had gathered to remember and grieve…