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The ACLU/SC has asked the L.A. Police Department to explain its pepper-spray policy following an incident caught on video. In the video, an officer sprays a man who appears to be handcuffed and sitting in the back seat of a police car.

"In the wake of this alarming footage, the Department has not rushed to address justified public concern," stated a letter to the L.A. Police Commission. "The public is entitled to know what conduct the LAPD thinks is acceptable."

The spraying incident, which happened last year but came to light only this month, is one of several disturbing videos that have raised questions about L.A.'s commitment to police reform. Another video uploaded to the popular website YouTube.com showed an officer repeatedly punching a suspect in the face while another sat on his chest.

"The ACLU has long advocated for increased police accountability in order to enhance public safety," said ACLU/SC executive director Ramona Ripston in a statement. "The fact that this incident only came to light after being posted on a popular website dramatically illustrates how far we are from that ideal."

Above: ACLU/SC's Mark Rosenbaum speaking about the lawsuit with City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo, at left.

In March a shocking video showed a woman in a hospital gown lost on a busy downtown L.A. street. Now the ACLU/SC is suing the hospital that dumped her on Skid Row wearing just two hospital gowns, a diaper and a pair of socks.

"In this city, we don't 'dump patients' as if they were disposable rubbish," said ACLU/SC legal director Mark Rosenbaum.

The lawsuit comes after months of negotiations with Kaiser Permanente to end the practice. The L.A. City Attorney has also filed criminal and civil charges against the hospital chain for its treatment of the 63-year-old homeless woman pictured in the video.

In the video shot from a security camera at the Union Rescue Mission, a taxi pulled up in front of the entrance and out of view. Moments later, a woman wobbled down the street. A few minutes later a representative from the mission met her and escorted her inside.

The woman, who was from Gardena not downtown L.A., had no money, no identification other than a hospital bracelet, and no medication or personal belongings when she was released from a Kaiser hospital in Bellflower. Three days later, she was readmitted to a local hospital.

The lawsuit states that Kaiser "has engaged in this conduct with full knowledge that the persons it transports to Skid Row will not continue to heal or recuperate in that setting."

Last year, several groups were in negotiations with Kaiser to prevent further dumping of patients, but the hospital made no commitment to end the practice.

Public Counsel and law firm Girardi and Keese join the ACLU/SC in the suit.

LOS ANGELES — The operator of a popular Central Valley high school football website will be allowed to cover this Friday's Division IV quarterfinal at Taft Union High School in Taft, California, after the ACLU of Southern California threatened to file a lawsuit on his behalf.

Derek Brown operates CVHSPreps.com, a website devoted to news, analysis, and statistics on high school football in the Central Valley. Brown was denied access to the sidelines of the football game by Taft school officials, who felt his website contained comments that portrayed some Taft coaches in a negative light.

"We're happy Mr. Brown will be able to cover the quarterfinal playoff game at Taft this Friday," said Peter Bibring, a staff attorney for the ACLU/SC. "Government officials cannot selectively exclude a reporter from open press areas just because they don't like the coverage."

School officials apparently objected not to content written by CVHSPrep staff, but to comments posted by the public in the "Community Forums" portion of the website. But in a letter to the ACLU sent this week, the school agreed to restore Brown's access to the Friday game.

"I'd never say anything against the school," Brown said. "But people get passionate when they talk about sports. We make sure everything on the site is family-friendly, but some of the comments still seemed to upset the coaches."

"I'm glad we've gotten our access back, so we can continue to provide the kind of comprehensive coverage our members and readers have come to expect," Brown continued.

Until a few weeks ago, Taft had consistently permitted Brown, along with other local newspaper and television reporters, to report and take pictures from the sidelines of Taft high school games. But on Oct. 20, Brown was escorted off the field and informed that no one from his web site would be allowed on the sidelines at future games due to the coaches' concerns with the website's content. Other media were permitted to remain on the field and cover the game as before.

"It's troubling that Taft wrongly kept Brown off the sidelines for two games," Bibring said. "But by restoring equal access, they've shown that CVHSPreps did nothing wrong in exercising their constitutional right to free speech and a free press."