LOS ANGELES -- A white supremacist Ku Klux Klan leader who was injured when his small group of demonstrators brawled with counter-protesters in a California park this weekend says he called police beforehand asking for security and was told, "We don't do that."
Will Quigg said in an interview with The Associated Press that he contacted the Anaheim Police Department but the agency denied his requests for a police presence. The KKK then told officers that the group would hire an outside security company.
"They said, 'No, you can't do that either,"' Quigg said.
The police department is facing scrutiny for its response after three people were stabbed and several others were injured in the brawl Saturday involving several dozen people. Investigators determined that Klan members acted in self-defence after the counter-protesters attacked.
The police department had notified the public that the KKK planned to hold an anti-immigration protest at the park, but at least one witness said he saw no uniformed officers when the attack began.
When Quigg and about five others arrived, they were confronted by dozens of angry counter-protesters.
Police Sgt. Daron Wyatt said officers were present, but he declined to say how many. He acknowledged that Quigg had contacted the department but believed that the group leader was asking for police to act as personal security guards.
"He was told how to contract for officers to do that, but did not want to spend the money," Wyatt said.
Eugene O'Donnell, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said police departments are obligated to ensure public safety but also face criticism for chilling free speech and being heavy-handed. That can make it difficult for officers to know how to handle a protest event.
"Sometimes the best presence is a very low-key presence," O'Donnell said.
Anaheim police said officers at the protest quickly called for backup when the violence broke out, and additional officers arrived within less than two minutes.
Five KKK members arrested later were released because evidence showed they acted in self-defence, police said. Seven people still in custody were seen beating, stomping and attacking the Klansmen with wooden posts, Wyatt said.
Police said the Klansmen stabbed three counter-protesters.
"Regardless of an individual or groups' beliefs or ideologies, they are entitled to live without the fear of physical violence and have the right, under the law, to defend themselves when attacked," a police statement said.
Quigg said he was thrown to the ground, hit with a pipe, stomped and struck with slabs of wood. He said his right hand was fractured and his spleen and a rib bruised. He said he did not stab anyone.
"What was done was done to protect our lives," he said. "Our lives were in jeopardy."
