Los Angeles councilwoman calls for ban on strobe lights at protests

Los Angeles Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez called Wednesday for the city to ban strobe lights from protests and demonstrations, calling them capable of disorienting or temporarily blinding police officers and protesters.

In a motion introduced Wednesday, Rodriguez said that while the vast majority of protests in Los Angeles are peaceful, “there have been incidents of violence between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators, as well as acts of violence targeting police officers.”

“The use of strobe lights can be extremely harmful as the lights can disorient and/or temporarily blind both police officers and protesters,” according to the motion, which also states that people used strobe lights against officers during demonstrations in Echo Park and Hollywood.

“Additionally, intermittent light patterns created by strobe lights may cause seizures in persons that are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy, impacting police officers and demonstrators alike,” the motion says.

Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 55.07 currently prohibits people at protests from possessing laser pointers, baseball bats, pipes, weapons and aerosol sprays. Rodriguez’ motion, if approved by the City Council, would direct the city attorney draft an amendment to the ordinance to add strobe lights and stroboscopic lamps of any light source, color, frequency, intensity or lumens.

A date was not immediately set for the City Council to consider the motion.

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