FIRST DNC PROTEST PEACEFUL.

Byline: Dominic Berbeo, Brent Hopkins and Heather MacDonald Staff Writers

About 4,000 protesters peacefully marched from Pershing Square to Staples Center on Sunday under the watchful eye of a beefed up Los Angeles Police Department force, setting a positive tone to coming days of demonstrations.

The event represents the culmination of months of painstaking preparation by activists and police. It was the first of many major protests scheduled to coincide with the Democratic National Convention, which starts today, as an international media spotlight is focused on Los Angeles.

Organized by the International Action Center, the protest centered on demands for a new trial for Death Row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of murdering a police officer in Philadelphia.

Police reported no injuries, just one arrest for vandalism, and no other incidents at the event, which started at noon in Pershing Square and ended with a rally in front of Staples Center at 4 p.m. Protesters even cleaned up trash left behind at the rally.

``It's our hope that the rest of the week will continue as peacefully as today, but of course we're prepared for the worst if necessary,'' said Officer Jason Lee, a LAPD spokesman.

Hundreds of uniformed police officers on motorcycles and bicycles in packs of about 50 zig-zagged through alleys and back streets along the protest route, setting up defense lines on side streets and maintaining a low-key presence.

Mayor Richard Riordan was encouraged by the first protest events surrounding the convention, which runs through Thursday, said Peter Hidalgo, his spokesman.

``The mayor was briefed by Chief (Bernard) Parks throughout the day, and the demonstrations that have taken place were clearly thousands of people expressing their First Amendment rights peacefully,'' he said.

A wide array of civil rights activists nationwide have criticized Abu-Jamal's murder conviction. They maintain the former Black Panther and radio journalist did not get a fair trial. He was sentenced to death in 1982 for killing Philadelphia police Officer Daniel Faulkner.

The protest included well-known figures such as civil-rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson, actor Ed Asner, union leader Dolores Huerta and ACLU President Leonard Weinglass.

``We have, as a nation, become too desensitized to organized killing,'' Weinglass said.

Asner added: ``This is a God-fearing country where we swear on the Bible to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But when it comes to killing, we tell God to mind his own business.''

Jackson urged protesters to continue their struggle until Abu-Jamal receives a new trial.

``We must make killing people illegal in this country,'' Jackson said. ``We must march until they stop the killing.''

Many of the protesters came from out of town, and said they were apprehensive of coming because of the zero-tolerance stance the LAPD has taken on DNC-related protests.

Many of the businesses along the march route closed Sunday, but others stayed open along the Broadway business corridor, which is normally a flurry of mostly Latino commercial activity ranging from swap meets to jewelry shops.

``The cops and the television media worked up a big scare for the local merchants, making us sound like a bunch of criminals,'' said Carl Russo, a San Francisco cab driver who came down with a bus caravan for the protest. ``The reality is that we're here to express ourselves and that's it.''

LAPD Sgt. Robert Hauck said police were focused on keeping the peace.

``We've been working with the organizations,'' Hauck said, referring to the protesters. ``They want this to be the same thing we do, a peaceful demonstration. That's not a lot of rhetoric, it's really what we want.''

Los Angeles resident Cristina Suarez, 17, was one of many marchers who wore a black bandanna emblazoned with ``Free Mumia'' around her face.

``It is a way to remain anonymous,'' said Suarez, dressed in a patchwork American Flag dress. ``I'm here representing oppressed people everywhere. It doesn't matter who I am.''

The march featured large, colorful puppets, including a 15-foot ``corporate greed'' figure that held a hypodermic needle injecting a dose of the ``death penalty'' into ``universal healthcare.''

The protesters were able to rally adjacent to Staples Center thanks to a recent court decision that overturned an LAPD plan to limit protests to several blocks away.

As a result, Democratic delegates from around the country who streamed on foot from their downtown hotels to take an early look at Staples Center also got a close look at the protesters.

``We thought it might be dangerous, but I think it turned out great that everything was peaceful,'' said Mark Miles, a Missouri delegate. ``Heck, when I was in school back in '67, I was out there protesting, too.''

The only sign of unruly activity was a small contingent of about a dozen anarchists who burned the American flag and taunted police officers along the march route, but there was no violence.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Above, protesters demanding a new trial for Death Row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal march peacefully Sunday toward Staples Center.

(2 -- color) Protesters yell and chant Sunday as they make their way toward Staples Center.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

(3 -- color) Left, demonstrators dressed in tree outfits hand out leaflets against redwood cutting on the eve of the Democratic National Convention.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News