Occupy LA Raid: Los Angeles Police Reportedly Went Undercover At Encampment Prior To Raid To Gather Information

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Los Angeles police used nearly a dozen undercover detectives to infiltrate the Occupy LA encampment before this week's raid to gather information on protesters' intentions, according to media reports Friday.

None of the officers slept at the camp, but tried to blend in during the weeks leading up to the raid to learn about plans to resist or use weapons against police, a police source told the Los Angeles Times. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing.

The undercover work yielded information that some protesters were preparing bamboo spears and other potentially dangerous weapons in advance of an expected eviction by the LAPD, none of which were used, according to City News Service which first reported the story.

Police downplayed the significance of the undercover work since Occupy meetings were public and easily tracked.

LAPD Officer Cleon Joseph declined an Associated Press request for comment on the reports.

The moment protesters found a plain-clothes cop in their midst

Usually, it is the police who kettle protesters. The tables were turned, though, when demonstrators unmasked and surrounded a plain-clothes officer who had infiltrated their midst during this week's public sector protests.

The hoodie-wearing interloper was discovered by protesters from the Occupy movement from St Paul's while they were attempting to take over a building near Piccadilly Circus in central London on Wednesday.

The incident, which occurred outside the offices of the mining company Xstrata, was captured on video by The Independent (above, left). Protesters asked the man whether he worked for the Metropolitan Police. He can be seen in the film nodding and answering: "Yeah, I'm a Met Police officer, yeah."

At that, one of the group said: "Right, let's circle him so he can't go anywhere." Protesters duly surrounded the officer, chanting "shame on you". Within moments the chants turned to "scum, scum, scum". One protester was heard to say: "He has no uniform and no [badge] number... we have no way of identifying him, so how are we supposed to complain about him."

Undercover officers knew of plans for downtown mayhem during G20

The undercover police officers who infiltrated two activist communities in southern Ontario played key roles in planning the G20 protests – going so far as identifying targets for mayhem, The Globe and Mail has learned.

One officer helped develop a list of locations for protesters to congregate at or vandalize; another was such a prominent presence in pre-G20 marches that his face was twice featured in newspapers alongside the activists he was spying on.

But despite having information – both from the list and in meetings – that protesters were considering gathering on Queen Street and embarking on a smashing rampage that would target Starbucks, Commerce Court and other specific businesses and offices, police were unable to stop the vandalism.

Asked why police didn’t do more, a spokesman for Toronto Police said it would be inappropriate to comment. “These cases may be over but the inquiries looking into the G20 have not yet reported,” Mark Pugash said.