Correspondence: complaints against LAPD, 1978-1991, p. 175 |
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ITORIALS
of THE TIMES
/ J i
FBI Probe Must Push Forward
The U. S. Justice Department must seize an important
opportunity to help restore
public confidence in the Los
Angeles Police Department in
the wake of the llodney King
beating.
Police Chief Daryl Gates has
announced his own plan to
evaluate and improve police
services. But outside, independent authorities familiar
with law enforcement, such as
the FBI, can do a better job of
examining the LAPD's system
to determine if problems exist
with training, discipline or the
chain of command.
The FBI began investigating the King incident shortly
after a videotape of the beating was widely televised. The
quick response was unusual
because federal authorities
typically wait until local
probes and prosecutions have
been completed. But the King
case warranted special attention, and the FBI probe now
includes contacting all 246
officers in the LAPD's Foothill Division.
As many as 21 LAPD officers were at the beating
scene, and additional officers
participated in an exchange of
derogatory messages on patrol car computers that same
night. That raises troubling
questions. Was the verbal behavior consistent with the
physical behavior in the King
case? Did officers feel free to
joke about racial groups, or
the use of force, in transmissions? Was this a callous disregard of department policy?
Were there no sanctions for
making such comments? The
answers are best obtained by
independent investigators.
Many officers have refused
to cooperate with -the FBI
without guarantees of immunity from future prosecution.
Officers have the right not to
make statements, but federal
investigators must not be deterred by^ efforts to close
ranks and stymie the probe.
The FBI investigation is not
a fishing expedition. It was
prompted by a specific crime.
To determine whether discriminatory patterns or policies led to that incident or
other incidents that may have
denied suspects their civil
rights, federal agents must
interview as many officers as
possible.
The King case is an extreme
example of what many minorities have complained about
for years, and not just in Los
Angeles. A speedy and thorough federal probe could help
assuage the national outrage.
'•*'■ ^tmtmmmUmmmmtk
Object Description
| Title | Correspondence: complaints against LAPD, 1978-1991 |
| Description | Newspaper clippings (Los Angeles Times, L.A. Weekly, Los Angeles Daily News, New York Times, Sentinel) and magazine articles (U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek) documenting Los Angeles Police Department misconduct under Chief Daryl F. Gates, 1978-1991, compiled by Irving Kessler and Lynn F. Kessler. Includes: Introduction, Contents, Excessive force, Rodney King, Mexican nationality, Civil rights, Property, Silence, Discrimination, Accountability, Gates intolerance, Recommendations. PART OF A SERIES: Materials in the series fall into one of several categories related to the Independent Commission's work product: (1) Commission meeting materials, which include meeting agendas, work plans, memoranda, and articles about police misconduct that were circulated and reviewed during the Commission's internal meetings; (2) public correspondence, which includes citizen complaints against the LAPD in the form of written testimony, articles, and an audio cassette tape, as well as letters drafted by citizens in support of the LAPD; (3) summaries of interviews held with LAPD officers regarding Departmental procedures and relations; (4) public meeting materials, which include transcripts, supplementary documents, and witness statements that were reviewed at the Commission's public meetings; (5) press releases related to the formation and work product of the Commission; and (6) miscellaneous materials reviewed by the Commission during its study, including LAPD personnel and training manuals, a memorandum of understanding, and messages from the LAPD's Mobile Digital Terminal (MDT) system. |
| Coverage date | 1978/1991 |
| Creator |
Kessler, Irving, compiler Kessler, Lynn F., compiler |
| Publisher (of the original version) | Los Angeles Times; L.A. Weekly; U.S. News & World Report; Los Angeles Daily News; New York Times; Newsweek; Sentinel |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California, USA; Washington, DC, USA; New York, New York, USA |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California |
| Date created | 1991 |
| Date issued | 1978/1991 |
| Type |
texts images |
| Format | 368 p. |
| Format (aat) |
clippings (information artifacts) articles summaries |
| Format (imt) | application/pdf |
| Language | English |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Part of collection | Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, 1991 |
| Series | Independent Commission File List |
| File | Complaints, suggestions, and support |
| Box and folder | box 23, folders 7-9 |
| Provenance | The collection was given to the University of Southern California on July 31, 1991. |
| Rights | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained. |
| Physical access | Contact: Special Collections, Doheny Memorial Library, Libraries, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189; specol@dots.usc.edu |
| Repository name | USC Libraries Special Collections |
| Repository address | Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189 |
| Repository email | specol@dots.usc.edu |
| Filename | indep-box23-07_09 |
Description
| Title | Correspondence: complaints against LAPD, 1978-1991, p. 175 |
| Format (imt) | image/tiff |
| Physical access | Contact: Special Collections, Doheny Memorial Library, Libraries, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189; specol@dots.usc.edu |
| Full text | ITORIALS of THE TIMES / J i FBI Probe Must Push Forward The U. S. Justice Department must seize an important opportunity to help restore public confidence in the Los Angeles Police Department in the wake of the llodney King beating. Police Chief Daryl Gates has announced his own plan to evaluate and improve police services. But outside, independent authorities familiar with law enforcement, such as the FBI, can do a better job of examining the LAPD's system to determine if problems exist with training, discipline or the chain of command. The FBI began investigating the King incident shortly after a videotape of the beating was widely televised. The quick response was unusual because federal authorities typically wait until local probes and prosecutions have been completed. But the King case warranted special attention, and the FBI probe now includes contacting all 246 officers in the LAPD's Foothill Division. As many as 21 LAPD officers were at the beating scene, and additional officers participated in an exchange of derogatory messages on patrol car computers that same night. That raises troubling questions. Was the verbal behavior consistent with the physical behavior in the King case? Did officers feel free to joke about racial groups, or the use of force, in transmissions? Was this a callous disregard of department policy? Were there no sanctions for making such comments? The answers are best obtained by independent investigators. Many officers have refused to cooperate with -the FBI without guarantees of immunity from future prosecution. Officers have the right not to make statements, but federal investigators must not be deterred by^ efforts to close ranks and stymie the probe. The FBI investigation is not a fishing expedition. It was prompted by a specific crime. To determine whether discriminatory patterns or policies led to that incident or other incidents that may have denied suspects their civil rights, federal agents must interview as many officers as possible. The King case is an extreme example of what many minorities have complained about for years, and not just in Los Angeles. A speedy and thorough federal probe could help assuage the national outrage. '•*'■ ^tmtmmmUmmmmtk |
| Filename | indep-box23-08-01~27.tif |
| Archival file | Volume77/indep-box23-08-01~27.tif |
