Skip to main content

In Plain Sight: Photographic Recordings of Police Violence (Lincoln Heights)

Kwasi Boyd for KCET, Lincoln Heights photograph (primary)
Support Provided By

After nearly thirty years of struggle and continued efforts to be more inclusive and diverse, the country is once again in the throes of unrest, clamoring for real change. As the nation strives for answers and ways forward in the wake of George Floyd’s death, it is helpful to look back. How did we get here? How can we help make lasting changes? Read on to learn more.

4th_soto1.jpg
4th Street, just west of Soto Street.  |  Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin

This photo essay is one in a series titled "In Plain Sight: Photographic Recordings of Police Violence" by Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin.

Police brutality and the use of excessive force is a topic at the forefront of our national conversation. To many, this subject seems unrelated to their daily lives but in reality, these events take place on street corners, at convenience stores and on the sidewalks of our neighborhoods. Although the re-emergence of the subject in the national media is somewhat recent, questions of departmental transparency, guidelines and police accountability have been an issue in Los Angeles for decades.

The goal of this project is to document both the surrounding areas and specific places where violent acts involving law enforcement have taken place. Most people move through the city immersed in their daily routines, often oblivious to the events that have taken place on the very streets they traverse. The exploration of these seemingly mundane spaces emphasizes the extent to which society has normalized the use of force by police officers in certain communities and the repercussions of that perspective. 

This photo essay is focused on the Lincoln Heights area of Los Angeles. Located just east of downtown, it is one of the oldest working class neighborhoods in the city. The area is primarily composed of residential blocks and a wide variety of small businesses. It is also bordered by large stretches of desolate, industrial spaces and bisected by two major freeways. Law enforcement in this community falls under the jurisdiction of the LAPD Hollenbeck station. This division has recently come under increased scrutiny due to an officer-involved shooting in 2016 that resulted in the death of a teenager in the neighboring city of Boyle Heights. 

State Pomoroy Photo courtesy of artist, Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin.jpg
Corner of State Street and Pomoroy Avenue.  |  Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin

Two of the most prominent architectural landmarks associated with Lincoln Heights, the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center and the abandoned Lincoln Heights Jail, are included in this essay as registered sites of police-related violence. Although the events that took place at these locations are separated by over 50 years, they serve to illustrate both how long the city has been grappling with the question of what is considered police brutality (or excessive force) and when the use of force is considered justified. 

On Christmas Day of 1951, also known as “Bloody Christmas,” seven men were heavily beaten at the Lincoln Heights Jail while in custody by a group of police officers. This scandal rocked the city and eventually sparked calls from the media to hold the officers involved accountable, which was unprecedented at the time. It was one of the first publicly documented examples of police brutality in LAPD history.

The officer-involved shooting that took place a short distance away from the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in September of 2016 is a recent case of a public violence that unfolded in front of many eyes. A suspect who had been arrested earlier in the day was undergoing tests at the hospital when he escaped police custody. In the course of his escape attempt, he attempted to carjack a motorist and was shot by the police. This scenario played out within the view of dozens of people, with the well-known hospital serving as the backdrop.

lh_jail2.jpg
436 N. Avenue 19. |  Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin
state pomoroy 2 Photo courtesy of artist, Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin.jpg
State Street just south of Pomoroy Avenue.  |  Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin
countyusc2.jpg
Corner of Zonal Avenue and Cummings Street. |  Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin
lh_jail1.jpg
436 N. Avenue 19. |  Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin
countyusc1.jpg
Zonal Avenue at Cummings Street. |  Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin
selig_mission1.jpg
North Mission Road at Selig Place. |  Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin
4th_soto2.jpg
Corner of 4th Street and Soto Street. |  Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin
selig_mission2.jpg
North Mission Road at Selig Place.  |  Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin

Support Provided By
Read More
An 8mm film still "The Kitchen" (1975) by Alile Sharon Larkin. The still features an image of a young Black woman being escorted by two individuals in white coats. The image is a purple monochrome.

8 Essential Project One Films From the L.A. Rebellion Film Movement

For years, Project One films have been a rite of passage for aspiring filmmakers at UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television. Here are eight Project One pieces born out of the L.A. Rebellion film movement from notable filmmakers like Ben Caldwell, Jacqueline Frazier and Haile Gerima.
A 2-by-3 grid of Razorcake zine front covers.

Last Punks in Print: Razorcake Has Been the Platform for Punks of Color For Over Two Decades

While many quintessential L.A. punk zines like "Flipside," "HeartattaCk," and "Profane Existence" have folded or only exist in the digital space, "Razorcake" stands as one of the lone print survivors and a decades-long beacon for people — and punks — of color.
Estevan Escobedo is wearing a navy blue long sleeve button up shirt, a silk blue tie around his neck, a large wide-brim hat on his head, and brown cowboy pants as he twirls a lasso around his body. Various musicians playing string instruments and trumpets stand behind him, performing.

The Art of the Rope: How This Charro Completo is Preserving Trick Roping in the United States

Esteban Escobedo is one of only a handful of professional floreadores — Mexican trick ropers — in the United States, and one of a few instructors of the technical expression performing floreo de reata (also known as floreo de soga "making flowers with a rope"), an art form in itself and one of Mexico's longest standing traditions.