"It's up to the LAPD to follow through on their promise, to be there to support the march and make sure all of the march participants have a good experience," said Bethany Leal of the Multi-Ethnic Immigrant Worker Organizing Network, one of the sponsors of the march and rally.
Juan Jose Gutierrez of Latino Movement USA echoed Leal, adding that many immigrants still distrust police because of their heavy-handed actions last year.
"There has been progress, but I don't think the relationship has been totally repaired," he said. "A lot of us are in a wait-and-see mode."
The scrutiny will extend far beyond the city's Latino communities. Federal monitors, who oversee the department's efforts to comply with a set of mandated reforms imposed after a corruption and abuse scandal in the late 1990s, will be on hand to observe.
Members of the department's civilian oversight commission, who have sat in on some of the planning meetings, and legal observers from several community and civil rights groups also will be on the streets.
The training at Dodger Stadium arose directly out of what went wrong last year. Near the end of a largely peaceful day of immigrant rights rallies, a group of 20 to 30 people at MacArthur Park provoked police by throwing sticks and water bottles filled with ice and gravel.
Police failed to effectively cut off the violent pocket from the rest of the crowd and, amid growing confusion, commanders gave an order to disperse the entire gathering. The message to leave was broadcast but only in English and from a speaker on a noisy helicopter.
Chaos ensued as officers in riot gear pushed their way through the park, wielding batons and firing nonlethal bullets. More than 240 protesters and journalists have claimed they were injured, as well as 18 officers. An internal LAPD report cited severe shortcomings in leadership, a lack of supervision and deficiencies in training.
In the demonstration's aftermath, Bratton reassigned two of the commanders who oversaw the melee. An LAPD investigation resulted in allegations of misconduct against 29 officers, but a discipline panel has not yet made any recommendations about punishment.
More than 250 claims were filed against the city. Attorneys from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and private firms are negotiating a possible settlement in the case.
