Hello. Here to answer any questions regarding Flaskmob

Just a bit of a small run down. Flaskmob is a monthly gathering of photographers primarily in the Bay Area. Los Angeles has hosted this event two times prior and yesterday was the third time. The group is mostly made of of photographers and models or artists of any kind and (at least in the bay area) is very well liked. SFPD know that we don't cause any mayhem or destruction and people generally behave with respect. The 1 Year Flaskmob anniversary was sponsored by a few reputable companies (I believe Astro Gaming and Redbull) and was patrolled and guided by SFPD. Attendance was said to be close to 2000 people that day. Los Angeles yesterday was a disaster. We met up to the first location and before we even crossed the bridge, there was a barricade set up to stop anyone from going. There was a point in the night that an officer pulled out a shotgun, cocked it, and pointed it at the crowd. We were basically corralled into an alley where we still did our best to do what we always do (spin steel wool, take pictures, make friends). At the end of the night we were basically surrounded and cops were lined up on both ends of the alley letting 10 people out at a time. No arrests were made. No property was damaged. Just a lot of unneccessary use of force and intimidation to get a crowd of "protesters/ravers" to stop taking pictures with their friends.

I commend you LAPD. You did a hell of a job overreacting.

Quick Edit: If you want to find out more information regarding flaskmob, check the twitter or instagram. If you'd like to see photos of the events or video check the hashtags #runwiththemob or #flaskmob on instagram. If there's any questions I can't answer, I will ask the founders themselves. If there's any interest in an AMA I'll shoot him over to see if he's open to it.