Two Arrested at Venice Drum Circle

Two men were arrested for interfering with police and some bottles were thrown as officers sought to silence a loud, weekly drum circle in Venice for the nightly noise curfew, a sergeant said today.

Some residents had taken to social media to call for several hundred people to stage a peaceful "Solidarity With The Drum Circle" event in Venice, starting at 3 p.m. on Ocean Front Walk near Brooks Avenue, according to the group's Facebook page.

At 7:50 p.m., officers started asking drummers to stop so as not to disturb some Venice residents, Los Angeles police Sgt. Laura Curtin said.

"Two (men) were arrested for interfering with police," Curtin said.

Both were booked on misdemeanor charges, she said.

"Several bottles were thrown at officers," Curtin said.

The group's March 16 demonstration drew 400 to 500 people, and was shut down by police walking in a flank up the beach, as an LAPD airship circled overhead.

Residents of the beach neighborhood are divided, with some defending the drum circle and others writing of their frustrations on the Internet.

A local website, Venice311, wrote that the drum circle participants are"interested in using our neighborhood to provoke the cops for (an) already flawed attempt at civic valor."

--City News Service