EDITORIAL LAPD GOES TO WAR CLASHES WITH PROTESTERS, PRESS RAISE SERIOUS QUESTIONS.

MAYBE the protesters started it.

Maybe Los Angeles police officers were just responding to rocks thrown Tuesday night when they turned their batons and rubber bullets on people hanging around after the otherwise peaceful immigration reform rally at MacArthur Park on Tuesday evening.

Maybe the reporters who were hit and shoved, and the television camera crews, were getting in the way of cops trying to restore law and order.

It doesn't really matter. The reality is that the LAPD is the force charged with protecting and maintaining the peace of the city. And on Tuesday, it failed to do that.

The images of what took place don't look good. They suggest that the old LAPD was on duty at the rally, not the modern force we hope we have, one that responds appropriately instead of overreacting with violence.

The outcry from the media and protesters was predictable, and the calls for a full investigation from the mayor and City Council are appropriate.

And Chief William Bratton has done the right thing by immediately ordering an investigation into what happened, and promising to deal with any officers who acted inappropriately.

Now there must be follow-up with a full and transparent investigation, with the full involvement of the community.

The consensus of both the police and protest organizers is that the scuffles were instigated by a small group of agitators who were not part of the larger demonstrations. The "vast majority" of protesters were acting appropriately, Bratton said.

That's what is so disturbing. If the incidents were isolated and involved known troublemakers, why did the cops come down so hard on working journalists just doing their jobs?

Several were hit, pushed, thrown to the ground, even kicked -- videos show that all too clearly. The idea that any officer would imagine that it's acceptable to suppress the gathering of news ought to concern us all.

The LAPD has done a lot in recent years to repair its relationship with communities that have felt victimized by the police. The ranks are more diverse. Community policing is a priority.

This incident doesn't have to set back that relationship. Whether it does will depend on how city leaders follow through with the investigation, and whether they hold people accountable.

For too long, L.A. has not properly disciplined unacceptable behavior among public safety personnel, leading to a destructive us- versus-them attitude. This tradition has cost taxpayers millions in settlements and cost the good men and women of the LAPD the respect they deserve.

This incident requires more than a cursory look at what happened. We need to know why some officers were in a frame of mind to use force which, from the visual evidence, wasn't needed at all.