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Tear gas and less-than-lethal weapons were deployed by police as fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated the team's second consecutive World Series championship in downtown Los Angeles overnight following its Game 7 win against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed in a post shared on their X account.
A "dispersal order" was declared in downtown Los Angeles at around 12:30 a.m. local time Sunday (November 2) after officers were hit by fireworks and bottles as thousands of fans took to the streets to celebrate.
"Public Advisory Olympic and Grand Ave Less than lethal has been authorized. CS gas has been authorized by the Incident Commander. Officers are being hit by industrial size fireworks and bottles," the department wrote.
Pyrotechnics were also reportedly launched at a large crowd that had convened near Sunset Boulevard and Echo Park, just blocks away from Dodger Stadium, though the series concluded in Toronto Saturday (November 1) night. Police were given approval to use less-than-lethal munitions to disperse the crowds after verbal orders were ignored.
A large crowd was reported to have vandalized an autonomous vehicle in the downtown Los Angeles area, according to the department. Several cars were reported to have done donuts and burnouts at an intersection in the Pacoima neighborhood where about 350 to 400 people were present, according to footage shared by KTLA.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass encouraged residents to celebrate the Dodgers' World Series victory, but condemned those who did so violently.
“Once again, we showed the world that LA is the city of champions,” Bass wrote on her X account. “Celebrate safely and responsibly tonight, Dodgers fans. LAPD is on heightened alert and coordinating with regional law enforcement. There will be no tolerance for anyone who tries to take advantage of this win.”
Incidents were also reported when fans celebrated the Dodgers' 2024 World Series victory last year, which included a 25-year-old fan partially blowing off his hand with a firework and a mob of looters stealing merchandise from a boarded-up Nike store located about four miles from Dodger Stadium, the New York Post reported.
The Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-4, in extra innings during Game 7 of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Centre. Catcher Will Smith hit a solo home run in the top of the 11th inning to break a 4-4 tie.
Yoshibobu Yamamoto earned the win in relief, pitching 2.2 innings and recording one strikeout, forcing a double play to end the game. Yamamoto earned wins in three of the Dodgers' four World Series victories, having started Games 2 and 6 and pitched a total of 17.2 innings with two earned runs, 15 strikeouts and 10 hits allowed to earn the 2026 World Series Most Valuable Player award.
The Dodgers rallied back from a 4-1 deficit in the eighth inning to score three unanswered runs, with Max Muncy homering in the eighth to cut the deficit to 4-3 and Miguel Rojas tying the game with a solo home run in the top of the ninth. The Dodgers became the first back-to-back World Series champions since the New York Yankees won their third consecutive title in 2000.
Los Angeles entered the World Series with one postseason loss, which came in the National League Divisional Series, having swept the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series last month. The Dodgers finished the 2025 regular season with a 93-69 record, having won their fourth consecutive National League West Division title and fifth in six years.