JOSEPH PIETROFORTE
4416 VERDUGO RD
LOS ANGELES CA 90065
May 20 , 1991
INDEPENDENT COMMISSION ON THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
400 s . Hope St. - Suite 1910
Los Angeles> CA 90071- 2899
Re: Police Brutality Probe
Attention: WARREN M. CHRISTOPHER, Chairman and Attorney- Diplomat
Gentlemen:
Enclosed is a copy of a letter originally sent to the media but they
did not have the courage to print .
It explains why the pol i ce must be ans werable. Their behavior is above
t he law and Int ernal Affairs is a cover-up as a fascist regime is a
serious thr eat to our democracy .
In the King beating. the comments by Gates went from (a) an attempted
cover-up to (b) an "aberration" to (c) a "complete human failure . "
The PD is not accountable to anyone therefore our checks a nd balances
fo r m of go v ernmen t is l eft to a c itizen wi th a camcorder.
Sincerely, ~
~~etrorort 4416 Verdugo Roa
Los Angeles. CA 90065 - 4829
(213) 256- 8962
r.:;:> ril 2 , 1991
JOSEPH PIETROFORTE
~ 4416 VE RDUGO RD
·~ LOS ANGELES CA 90065 .
INDEPENDENT COMMISSION ON THE LOS ANGELES POLI CE DEPARTMENT
400 S . Hope St . - Suite 1910
Los Angeles , CA 90071- 2899
Re: Police Brutality Probe
Attention: WARREN M. CHRISTOPHER , Chairman and Attorney - Di plomat
Ge ntl emen:
For over 13 years , the public has been inf ormed via the media of the
insensitivity and intemperate rema~ks by Chief Gates a b out (A) Latinos ,
Jews and women, (B ) a chokehold alludin g to 16 deaths a nd the battering
ram indicating an excessive force PD, {C) offending the S tate Department
by wanting to send a SVTAT team to Iran , (D) blackmailing the City Council
fo r approving a ballot measure that would increase the city's power to
disc i pline department heads , (E) calling his own men "pantywaists" who
opposed the Halloween deployment of cops in Hollywood, (F) calling him-self
an "arrogant bastard," lG) saying the Mayor wrote a "dumb letter"
when he asked for an investigation of police improprieties , (H) the Rod­ney
King beating and (I) stating that "casual drug users ought to be shot."
I'll favor the shooting of drug users providing we start with Gates Junior •
.And how many women have been raped while in custody? Would anyone even
dare to venture a guess?
Gates says the King beating is an" aberration ." In 199 0, the City paid
$8 to ~ 10 million in police misconduct "aberrations" and the taxpayer
picked up the tab .
The limitations of psychology: Altho psychology tells us that it is but
a narrow and thin line that seperates the cop from the criminal . A good
oop can make a good criminal and vice versa . But can psychology filter
COMMI SSION
JOSEPH PIETROFORTE
4416 VERDUGO RD
LOS ANGELES CA 90065
CHRI STOPHER PAGE 2
out the guys who are looking f or a job with a "built-in" license to
kill and maim?
King's mistake: bltho King is (a) far from being a model citizen with
(b} a felony conviction on (c) probation wes (d) once again breaking the
#
law by speeding (e) did not stop im.o.ediately and (f) should not have
made , IF .ANY, furtive motion fo r (g) the cop you get may be a sadist
with that "built-in" license to kill .
Falsifying police reports: The car manufacturer says a Hyundai cannot
attain the speed of 115 m.p . h . Report . shows only minor cuts and bruises.
What ' s there to stop the cops from saying King approached ~hem with a
jack ham.mer? These cops just created our new millionaire out of a felon
et
1
..;()ur expense .
The chief hes lost his administrative control over his men. He is sending
"mixed signals." He has brutality guidelines but everything he says end
does gives tacit approval to be like him, a rogue cop.
The chief does a serous injustice to his men now that he has stepped into
the liberal web. This incident will bring about more liberal legislation
to make the job for the cop that much more of a difficult task. Chief,
you are a liability to the city and to your men.
Our form of government is one of checks and balances. It is not the job
ot the police to punish, just apprehend and any cop who does not under-
SPEEDING#. All traffic viol~tions ere unconstitutional, therefore illegal
and used as a source of revenue . Spece here is limited to incorporate the
lengthy explanation but will be the topic of a subsequent letter to editor.
COMMISSION
JOSEPH PIETROFORTE
4416 VERDUGO RD
LOS ANGELES CA 90065
CHRISTOPHER PAGE 3
stand this basic and elementary concept wi t hin the frame work of our
democ=acy is not worthy of civil service employment.
'!'he beating is deplorable, the chief sh ould resign and LA b a dly ne e ds a
Citizens Police Review Board . But don't l oo k for the chief to resign
until he gets , at least , a $6.5 million buy out .
Citizens Po l ice Review Board and not Civilian Police Review Board is
needed . The word~ civilian , implies a militaristic attitude and oono-tation
. This is a carry over from the days of the fascist oriented
Chief Davis who looked like a clown by tying a handerchief across his
face when a judge issued him a ga5 order and who made the famous quote,
" liang Em at the .Airport·. " That quote circumvents the constitution , by-passes
the judicial for a complete erosion of justice .
Davis sent his men to porno movies , gay bars and chase whores as he dis­tracted
the citiz ens by blaming the increase in c r ime on lawyers , judges
and women . He did quit e well when you consider his staff was packed
with child molesters , liollywood burglars, dope pushers and who campaigned
tor governor while on the city payroll .
The same chief who "wired" his campaign manager for a word-for- word tape
recording to thwart the efforts of a congressmen's bid for senator .
Ironically, being "wired" was what Davis strongly opposed when he was
cheit . 1ust goes to show you that if you give some guys a badge , a gun
and a uniform, you get a fascist trooper in return .
The mast truthful co.m.oent to come out of this whole senario is when Gates
I
says - ~he PD is a "complete human failure."
Unanswered questions: (1) Why was the traffic violation charge dropped? ..... :.
.. ,
COMMI SSION
JO SE PH PIC:TROrORTC:
4416 VC:RDUGO RD
I OS AN r-~1 ~~ rA nn n, ,
CHRISTOPHER ?.~ GE 4
{ 2) ','/hen one polic e ju=isdiction T.akes ove:- an a :-rest fro m another
police ju:-isd iction , it is known , i n p olice :pa!'lance , as " lynching ."
\'rb.y was this allowed to happen? { 3) The PD is not accountable to anyone .
vrnen this loophole is le~t unpluged in our checks and balances form of
g overnment, a f a scist regime becomes a serious t hreot to our democracy .
J osenh Pietroforte
~416-Verdugo Road
Los Angeles , CA 90065-4829
{213 ) 2 56- 8962
P . S. This paragraph is not a part of my letter to the editor but let
me tell you what a nightmare it was to have one of LAPD's finest as a
next door neighbor. He siphoned gas out of police cars , emptied hi s rev­olver
into the sky and "lifted" items off burglars only to be sold lat er
at a swap meet . I had a moto r cycle , poli ce ca r , baton and a gun pointed
at me . I was cussed at , spit a t , s toned , intimidated , humiliated , con-spir
ed against , beaten, threaten ver bally with life and limb and broken
into on my property . There wa s as many as 4 car s of the D~-P parked as
long as 6 hours daily at the r ear of his home for many months and pos­sibly
years . This is where Gates should have looked to find the " lazy"
civil serv ice em~loyees . I still h a ve the photos. And when I repor ted
all this to Internal Affairs , Police Commission , City Attorney (Reiner
then) and the D':rP ,