The Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA Championship on Sunday following their Game 6 victory against the Miami Heat, and fans were clearly happy about it.
USA Today reports that police arrested 67 people outside of the Staples Center and the surrounding area in L.A. last night, with 61 arrested for failing to disperse, Drake Madison of the LAPD revealed. Five other arrests were made for looting, while one other was arrested for vandalism. "It would have been nice if there were zero (arrests) and then we could have just celebrated peacefully," he added. "Unfortunately, when it gets to this point, it’s usually because things are getting a little out of control."
Thousands of people gathered in the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday night after the team took home their first NBA title in a decade. Some individuals drove their cars slowly through the streets to join the celebrations, while others set off illegal fireworks, smoke bombs, and some deliberately spun out their tires. As a result, hundreds of police officers were on scene, with arrests being made after the crowds, whom seemed to have forgotten we're in the middle of a pandemic, failed to disperse.
It's worth mentioning that the Lakers victory parade has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with TMZ reporting that city officials are working on the details right now. There's no scheduled timeframe for the parade as of right now, but officials and the team are looking to throw a full parade once it is safe to do so.
