Though Kings victory celebrations were generally pretty tame last night, one incident ended in police using foam rubber baton rounds to send celebrants scattering.
According to LAPD Commander Andy Smith, a group of troublemakers that police had been keeping their eyes on started banging on a city bus, trying to break its windows and possibly flip it over.
So officers fired a 37mm gas gun — essentially a barrel you can shoot different kinds of things out of — filled with packs of black, rubber, barrel-shaped pellets. The pellets look, ironically, like small hockey pucks, but are apparently much softer and squishier, with a consistency akin to a ball of athletic tape. When they're shot, there's a flash of light and a bang. The rounds are fired at the ground and bounce indiscriminately. If they hit a person, ideally in the legs, they sting and can leave a bruise.
Last night, they were apparently enough to send the alleged troublemakers scattering.
In addition, there were four arrests (unrelated to the bus incident) of rowdy Kings fans last night; two people were detained and released without arrest.