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REMARKS OF GEOFFREY TAYLOR GIBBS, ESQ. ON BEHALF OF THE JOHN M. LANGSTON BAR ASSOCIATION AT THE SPECIAL HEARING OF THE POLICE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES TO CONSIDER THE RODNEY GLEN KING INCIDENT MARCH 14, 1991 MADAM VICE-PRESIDENT, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, AND CITIZENS OF LOS ANGELES. MY NAME IS GEOFFREY TAYLOR GIBBS, AND I AM HERE ON BEHALF OF THE JOHN M. LANGSTON BAR ASSOCIATION, REPRESENTING MORE THAN 900 AFRICAN-AMERICAN ATTORNEYS IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA. TODAY YOU WILL HEAR FROM A CROSS-SECTION OF THE LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY. MANY WILL BE HERE SIMPLY TO EXPRESS THEIR OUTRAGE AT THE BRUTAL BEATING OF RODNEY GLEN KING. MANY WILL BE HERE TO DEMAND THE RESIGNATION OF CHIEF DARYL GATES. OTHERS WILL BE HERE TO RECOUNT THEIR OWN STORIES OF ABUSE AT THE HANDS OF THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND STILL OTHERS MAY BE HERE TO PRAISE THE DEPARTMENT, FOR LET US NEVER FORGET THAT THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THE MORE THAN 8,000 MEMBERS OF THE LOS ANGELES POLICE FORCE ARE DEDICATED AND CARING PUBLIC SERVANTS WHO LAY THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE EVERY DAY IN OUR COMMUNITY'S CONTINUING WAR AGAINST CRIME. ALL OF THESE STATEMENTS ARE APPROPRIATE, AND INDEED NECESSARY, TO AID THE COMMISSION IN PROPERLY EXECUTING ITS DUTY TO OVERSEE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF THE BELIEF THAT THE LEADER OF THAT DEPARTMENT, CHIEF DARYL F. GATES, ENJOYS THE LEGAL STATUS OF A CIVIL SERVANT AND IS THEREFORE VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO DISCIPLINE, ALL OF THESE STATEMENTS WILL BE MADE AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF ENORMOUS FRUSTRATION AND ALMOST HELPLESSNESS ON THE COMMUNITY'S PART. YESTERDAY, FOR EXAMPLE, AN EDITORIAL IN THE LOS ANGELES TIMES ENTITLED "HARD QUESTIONS FOR CHIEF GATES" STATED, "CHIEF GATES IS RESPONSIBLE FOR INFLAMMATORY COMMENTS, FOR THE ACTIONS OF HIS OFFICERS AND FOR THE $8 MILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY PAID OUT LAST YEAR TO SATISFY COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE DEPARTMENT. BUT BECAUSE OF RIGID CIVIL SERVICE PROTECTIONS, THE POLICE CHIEF IS NOT ACCOUNTABLE TO THE MAYOR, THE CITY COUNCIL, OR TO THE CITY'S VOTERS." THE CITIZENS OF LOS ANGELES ARE HERE TODAY TO DEMAND CERTAIN, ACTION BY YOU, EVEN THOUGH MANY OR MOST OF THEM BELIEVE THAT THE LAW MAY PRESENT VIRTUALLY INSURMOUNTABLE OBSTACLES TO YOUR TAKING SUCH ACTION. AS ATTORNEYS, WE DO NOT BELIEVE THIS TO BE THE CASE. WE BELIEVE THAT THE LAW OF THIS CITY CLEARLY STATES THAT CHIEF GATES DOES NOT ENJOY CIVIL SERVICE PROTECTION WITH RESPECT , TO THE COMMISSION'S ABILITY TO DISCIPLINE HIM OR REMOVE HIM FROM OFFICE, BUT INSTEAD THAT CHIEF GATES IS SUBJECT TO BASICALLY THE SAME DISCIPLINARY PROCESS AS A RANK-AND-FILE OFFICER. MOREOVER, WE BELIEVE THAT THE . COMMISSION MAY REASONABLY TAKE SUCH ACTION. THE AUTHORITY FOR OUR BELIEF IS HERE --- IN THE LOS ANGELES CITY CHARTER AND ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, AND HERE - -- IN THE 1991 OFFICIAL POLICE DEPARTMENT MANUAL. SECTION 199 OF THE CITY CHARTER STATES THAT THE POLICE CHIEF IS SUBJECT IN APPOINTMENT TO THE CHARTER'S CIVIL SERVICE PROVISIONS BUT THAT THE SEPARATE PROVISIONS REGARDING POLICE OFFICER DISCIPLINE --- AND I QUOTE "SHALL APPLY TO THE CHIEF OF POLICE WITH RESPECT TO HIS RIGHT TO OFFICE ••• AND THE PROCEEDINGS FOR HIS REMOVAL, SUSPENSION AND DISCHARGE." SECTION 22.216 OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE SETS FORTH SPECIFIC GROUNDS FOR THE DISCIPLINE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE, AND PROVIDES THAT THE COMMISSION HAS SOLE POWER TO DETERMINE THOSE GROUNDS. I QUOTE: "FAILURE ON THE [CHIEF'S] PART TO CO PLY WITH [THE COMMISSION'S] INSTRUCTIONS, OR INCOMPETENCY, DISHONESTY, DISCOURTESY, OR NEGLECT OF DUTY, AS DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSION, SHALL CONSTITUTE ADEQUATE GROUNDS FOR [THE CHIEF'S REMOVAL] ••• " ALLOW US, THEN, TO ARGUE TO THE COMMISSION THAT IF IT SO CHOOSES, IT MAY REASONABLY DISCIPLINE --- REMOVE SUSPEND OR OTHERWISE PUNISH --- CHIEF GATES FOR VIOLATION OF THE SPECIFIC LAWS OF THIS CITY. THIS IS THE CASE AGAINST DARYL GATES. THE COMMISSION MAY REASONABLY DETERMINE THAT CHIEF GATES HAS FAILED TO FOLLOW ITS INSTRUCTIONS. IN 1982, THIS COMMISSION OFFICIALLY REPRIMANDED CHIEF GATES FOR REMARKING THAT "SOME BLACKS" MAY BE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO CHOKEHOLDS THAN QUOTE "NORMAL PEOPLE." A REPRIMAND IS ALSO AN INSTRUCTION TO AVOID REPEATING THE CENSURED BEHAVIOR. CHIEF GATES HAS MADE SO MANY SIMILAR STATEMENTS SINCE 1982 THAT WE I WILL NOT BOTHER TO RECITE ALL OF THEM HERE. HE HAS CLEARLY FAILED TO FOLLOW THE COMMISSION'S INSTRUCTIONS. THE COMMISSION MAY REASONABLY DETERMINE THAT CHIEF GATES HAS DEMONSTRATED INCOMPETENCY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT. THE TAXPAYERS HAD TO PAY MORE THAN $8 MILLION IN CLAIMS AGAINST POLICE DEPARTMENT LAST YEAR. THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF FAIR EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING FOUND THAT THE DEPARTMENT DISCRIMINATES AGAINST ITS LATINO OFFICERS. CHIEF GATES HAS CREATED A CLIMATE IN WHICH BRUTALITY BY A SMALL MINORITY OF HIS DEPARTMENT IS TOLERATED, IF NOT ENCOURAGED. THE COMMISSION HAS THE RIGHT TO ASK WHETHER THESE FACTS DEMONSTRATE COMPETENT MANAGEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT. THE COMMISSION MAY REASONABLY CONCLUDE THAT CHIEF GATES HAS DEMONSTRATED DISCOURTESY TO THE CITIZENS OF LOS ANGELES HE IS SWORN "TO SERVE AND TO PROTECT." CHIEF GATES' STATEMENT THAT A MAN ARRESTED FOR THE KILLING OF OFFICER KERBAT "WAS A EL SALVADORAN DRUNK ... A DRUNK WHO DOESN'T BELONG HERE" VIOLATES SECTION 240.15 OF THE POLICE MANUAL, WHICH STATES THAT "DISCOURTESY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE IS INDEFENSIBLE." THE COMMISSION MAY REASONABLY CONCLUDE THAT CHIEF GATES HAS NEGLECTED HIS DUTY ACCORDING TO SECTION 270. 25 OF THE POLICE MANUAL TO ONLY MAKE STATEMENTS AFTER USING CONSIDERED JUDGEMENT. REPRESENTING THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, CHIEF GATES TESTIFIED BEFORE THE UNITED STATES SENATE, THAT CASUAL DRUG USERS "SHOULD BE TAKEN OUT AND SHOT." HE LATER INSISTED THAT HE WAS NOT BEING FACETIOUS. FINALLY, THE COMMISSION HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO CONCLUDE THAT CHIEF GATES HAS NEGLECTED HIS DUTY ACCORDING TO SECTION 320 OF THE POLICE MANUAL TO RESPECT THE INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY OF OTHERS. AS THIS CITY AND THE NATION REACTED IN SHOCK TO THE BRUTAL BEATING OF RODNEY GLEN KING AND MR. KING LAY IN GRAVE CONDITION PERHAPS SUFFERING PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE, THIS WAS CHIEF GATES' APOLOGY TO MR. KING, AND I QUOTE: "HE'S ON PAROLE. HE'S A CONVICTED ROBBER. IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT HE'S ON PAROLE AND A CONVICTED ROBBER, I'D BE GLAD TO APOLOGIZE ••• " THIS STATEMENT IN ITSELF, IMPLYING THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT MAY ATTACH A LESSER VALUE TO THE LIFE OF A CITIZEN IF HE IS A PAROLEE, IS SO PATENTLY OUTRAGEOUS AND SO WHOLLY INCONSISTENT WITH THE DUTIES OF A CHIEF OF POLICE ··THAT THE COMMISSION MUST TAKE ACTION AGAINST CHIEF GATES FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN THAT HE WOULD THINK HE COULD MAKE IT. IN SUMMARY, WE BELIEVE THAT THE COMMISSION DOES HAVE THE POWER TO DISCIPLINE CHIEF GATES AND DOES HAVE THE GROUNDS UPON WHICH TO DO SO. WE RECOGNIZE THAT CHIEF GATES HAS THE RIGHT TO A HEARING AND ULTIMATELY THE RIGHT TO APPEAL IN COURT ANY DISCIPLINARY ACTION THAT THE COMMISSION MAY TAKE AGAINST HIM. BUT THAT IS NO REASON TO ABDICATE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO INITIATE SUCH ACTION IF YOU BELIEVE AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE OF LOS ANGELES THAT IT IS WARRANTED. THE CITY COUNCIL IS FIGHTING TO FIND $8 MILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY TO PAY FOR EXCESSIVE FORCE COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE DEPARTMENT CHIEF GATES LEADS. THE LATINO OFFICERS OF THE DEPARTMENT ARE FIGHTING SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION FLOURISHING UNDER CHIEF GATES' LEADERSHIP. RODNEY GLEN KING IS FIGHTING TO RESTORE HIS EYESIGHT AND REGAIN A NORMAL LIFE. WE SEE NO REASON WHY THE COMMISSION SHOULD HESITATE TO MAKE CHIEF GATES FIGHT TO KEEP HIS JOB. THANK YOU.
Object Description
Title | Public session, 1991-05-01: materials from organizations (1 of 2), 1991 Mar.-May |
Description | Public session, 1991 May 1: materials from organizations (1 of 2), 1991 March 14 - May 1. 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 | 1991-03-14/1991-06-13 |
Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California |
Date created | 1991-03-14/1991-06-13 |
Type | texts |
Format | 128 p. |
Format (aat) |
clippings (information artifacts) correspondence faxes lists (document genres) presentations (communicative events) press releases |
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 | Public Sessions |
Box and folder | box 24, folder 23 |
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-box24-23 |
Description
Title | Gibbs remarks, 1991-03-14 |
Description | Transcription - "Remarks of Geoffrey Taylor Gibbs, esq. on behalf of the John M. Langston Bar Association at t heSpecial Hearing of hte police commission of the city of Los Angeles to consider the Rodney Glen King incident" |
Coverage date | 1991-03-14 |
Date created | 1991-03-14 |
Type | texts |
Format | 6 p. |
Format (aat) | presentations (communicative events) |
Format (imt) | application/pdf |
Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
Series | Independent Commission File List |
File | Public Sessions |
Box and folder | box 24, folder 23, item 3 |
Physical access | Contact: Special Collections, Doheny Memorial Library, Libraries, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189; specol@dots.usc.edu |
Full text | REMARKS OF GEOFFREY TAYLOR GIBBS, ESQ. ON BEHALF OF THE JOHN M. LANGSTON BAR ASSOCIATION AT THE SPECIAL HEARING OF THE POLICE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES TO CONSIDER THE RODNEY GLEN KING INCIDENT MARCH 14, 1991 MADAM VICE-PRESIDENT, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION, AND CITIZENS OF LOS ANGELES. MY NAME IS GEOFFREY TAYLOR GIBBS, AND I AM HERE ON BEHALF OF THE JOHN M. LANGSTON BAR ASSOCIATION, REPRESENTING MORE THAN 900 AFRICAN-AMERICAN ATTORNEYS IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA. TODAY YOU WILL HEAR FROM A CROSS-SECTION OF THE LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY. MANY WILL BE HERE SIMPLY TO EXPRESS THEIR OUTRAGE AT THE BRUTAL BEATING OF RODNEY GLEN KING. MANY WILL BE HERE TO DEMAND THE RESIGNATION OF CHIEF DARYL GATES. OTHERS WILL BE HERE TO RECOUNT THEIR OWN STORIES OF ABUSE AT THE HANDS OF THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND STILL OTHERS MAY BE HERE TO PRAISE THE DEPARTMENT, FOR LET US NEVER FORGET THAT THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THE MORE THAN 8,000 MEMBERS OF THE LOS ANGELES POLICE FORCE ARE DEDICATED AND CARING PUBLIC SERVANTS WHO LAY THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE EVERY DAY IN OUR COMMUNITY'S CONTINUING WAR AGAINST CRIME. ALL OF THESE STATEMENTS ARE APPROPRIATE, AND INDEED NECESSARY, TO AID THE COMMISSION IN PROPERLY EXECUTING ITS DUTY TO OVERSEE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF THE BELIEF THAT THE LEADER OF THAT DEPARTMENT, CHIEF DARYL F. GATES, ENJOYS THE LEGAL STATUS OF A CIVIL SERVANT AND IS THEREFORE VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO DISCIPLINE, ALL OF THESE STATEMENTS WILL BE MADE AGAINST A BACKGROUND OF ENORMOUS FRUSTRATION AND ALMOST HELPLESSNESS ON THE COMMUNITY'S PART. YESTERDAY, FOR EXAMPLE, AN EDITORIAL IN THE LOS ANGELES TIMES ENTITLED "HARD QUESTIONS FOR CHIEF GATES" STATED, "CHIEF GATES IS RESPONSIBLE FOR INFLAMMATORY COMMENTS, FOR THE ACTIONS OF HIS OFFICERS AND FOR THE $8 MILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY PAID OUT LAST YEAR TO SATISFY COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE DEPARTMENT. BUT BECAUSE OF RIGID CIVIL SERVICE PROTECTIONS, THE POLICE CHIEF IS NOT ACCOUNTABLE TO THE MAYOR, THE CITY COUNCIL, OR TO THE CITY'S VOTERS." THE CITIZENS OF LOS ANGELES ARE HERE TODAY TO DEMAND CERTAIN, ACTION BY YOU, EVEN THOUGH MANY OR MOST OF THEM BELIEVE THAT THE LAW MAY PRESENT VIRTUALLY INSURMOUNTABLE OBSTACLES TO YOUR TAKING SUCH ACTION. AS ATTORNEYS, WE DO NOT BELIEVE THIS TO BE THE CASE. WE BELIEVE THAT THE LAW OF THIS CITY CLEARLY STATES THAT CHIEF GATES DOES NOT ENJOY CIVIL SERVICE PROTECTION WITH RESPECT , TO THE COMMISSION'S ABILITY TO DISCIPLINE HIM OR REMOVE HIM FROM OFFICE, BUT INSTEAD THAT CHIEF GATES IS SUBJECT TO BASICALLY THE SAME DISCIPLINARY PROCESS AS A RANK-AND-FILE OFFICER. MOREOVER, WE BELIEVE THAT THE . COMMISSION MAY REASONABLY TAKE SUCH ACTION. THE AUTHORITY FOR OUR BELIEF IS HERE --- IN THE LOS ANGELES CITY CHARTER AND ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, AND HERE - -- IN THE 1991 OFFICIAL POLICE DEPARTMENT MANUAL. SECTION 199 OF THE CITY CHARTER STATES THAT THE POLICE CHIEF IS SUBJECT IN APPOINTMENT TO THE CHARTER'S CIVIL SERVICE PROVISIONS BUT THAT THE SEPARATE PROVISIONS REGARDING POLICE OFFICER DISCIPLINE --- AND I QUOTE "SHALL APPLY TO THE CHIEF OF POLICE WITH RESPECT TO HIS RIGHT TO OFFICE ••• AND THE PROCEEDINGS FOR HIS REMOVAL, SUSPENSION AND DISCHARGE." SECTION 22.216 OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE SETS FORTH SPECIFIC GROUNDS FOR THE DISCIPLINE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE, AND PROVIDES THAT THE COMMISSION HAS SOLE POWER TO DETERMINE THOSE GROUNDS. I QUOTE: "FAILURE ON THE [CHIEF'S] PART TO CO PLY WITH [THE COMMISSION'S] INSTRUCTIONS, OR INCOMPETENCY, DISHONESTY, DISCOURTESY, OR NEGLECT OF DUTY, AS DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSION, SHALL CONSTITUTE ADEQUATE GROUNDS FOR [THE CHIEF'S REMOVAL] ••• " ALLOW US, THEN, TO ARGUE TO THE COMMISSION THAT IF IT SO CHOOSES, IT MAY REASONABLY DISCIPLINE --- REMOVE SUSPEND OR OTHERWISE PUNISH --- CHIEF GATES FOR VIOLATION OF THE SPECIFIC LAWS OF THIS CITY. THIS IS THE CASE AGAINST DARYL GATES. THE COMMISSION MAY REASONABLY DETERMINE THAT CHIEF GATES HAS FAILED TO FOLLOW ITS INSTRUCTIONS. IN 1982, THIS COMMISSION OFFICIALLY REPRIMANDED CHIEF GATES FOR REMARKING THAT "SOME BLACKS" MAY BE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO CHOKEHOLDS THAN QUOTE "NORMAL PEOPLE." A REPRIMAND IS ALSO AN INSTRUCTION TO AVOID REPEATING THE CENSURED BEHAVIOR. CHIEF GATES HAS MADE SO MANY SIMILAR STATEMENTS SINCE 1982 THAT WE I WILL NOT BOTHER TO RECITE ALL OF THEM HERE. HE HAS CLEARLY FAILED TO FOLLOW THE COMMISSION'S INSTRUCTIONS. THE COMMISSION MAY REASONABLY DETERMINE THAT CHIEF GATES HAS DEMONSTRATED INCOMPETENCY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT. THE TAXPAYERS HAD TO PAY MORE THAN $8 MILLION IN CLAIMS AGAINST POLICE DEPARTMENT LAST YEAR. THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF FAIR EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING FOUND THAT THE DEPARTMENT DISCRIMINATES AGAINST ITS LATINO OFFICERS. CHIEF GATES HAS CREATED A CLIMATE IN WHICH BRUTALITY BY A SMALL MINORITY OF HIS DEPARTMENT IS TOLERATED, IF NOT ENCOURAGED. THE COMMISSION HAS THE RIGHT TO ASK WHETHER THESE FACTS DEMONSTRATE COMPETENT MANAGEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT. THE COMMISSION MAY REASONABLY CONCLUDE THAT CHIEF GATES HAS DEMONSTRATED DISCOURTESY TO THE CITIZENS OF LOS ANGELES HE IS SWORN "TO SERVE AND TO PROTECT." CHIEF GATES' STATEMENT THAT A MAN ARRESTED FOR THE KILLING OF OFFICER KERBAT "WAS A EL SALVADORAN DRUNK ... A DRUNK WHO DOESN'T BELONG HERE" VIOLATES SECTION 240.15 OF THE POLICE MANUAL, WHICH STATES THAT "DISCOURTESY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE IS INDEFENSIBLE." THE COMMISSION MAY REASONABLY CONCLUDE THAT CHIEF GATES HAS NEGLECTED HIS DUTY ACCORDING TO SECTION 270. 25 OF THE POLICE MANUAL TO ONLY MAKE STATEMENTS AFTER USING CONSIDERED JUDGEMENT. REPRESENTING THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, CHIEF GATES TESTIFIED BEFORE THE UNITED STATES SENATE, THAT CASUAL DRUG USERS "SHOULD BE TAKEN OUT AND SHOT." HE LATER INSISTED THAT HE WAS NOT BEING FACETIOUS. FINALLY, THE COMMISSION HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO CONCLUDE THAT CHIEF GATES HAS NEGLECTED HIS DUTY ACCORDING TO SECTION 320 OF THE POLICE MANUAL TO RESPECT THE INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY OF OTHERS. AS THIS CITY AND THE NATION REACTED IN SHOCK TO THE BRUTAL BEATING OF RODNEY GLEN KING AND MR. KING LAY IN GRAVE CONDITION PERHAPS SUFFERING PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE, THIS WAS CHIEF GATES' APOLOGY TO MR. KING, AND I QUOTE: "HE'S ON PAROLE. HE'S A CONVICTED ROBBER. IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT HE'S ON PAROLE AND A CONVICTED ROBBER, I'D BE GLAD TO APOLOGIZE ••• " THIS STATEMENT IN ITSELF, IMPLYING THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT MAY ATTACH A LESSER VALUE TO THE LIFE OF A CITIZEN IF HE IS A PAROLEE, IS SO PATENTLY OUTRAGEOUS AND SO WHOLLY INCONSISTENT WITH THE DUTIES OF A CHIEF OF POLICE ··THAT THE COMMISSION MUST TAKE ACTION AGAINST CHIEF GATES FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN THAT HE WOULD THINK HE COULD MAKE IT. IN SUMMARY, WE BELIEVE THAT THE COMMISSION DOES HAVE THE POWER TO DISCIPLINE CHIEF GATES AND DOES HAVE THE GROUNDS UPON WHICH TO DO SO. WE RECOGNIZE THAT CHIEF GATES HAS THE RIGHT TO A HEARING AND ULTIMATELY THE RIGHT TO APPEAL IN COURT ANY DISCIPLINARY ACTION THAT THE COMMISSION MAY TAKE AGAINST HIM. BUT THAT IS NO REASON TO ABDICATE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO INITIATE SUCH ACTION IF YOU BELIEVE AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE OF LOS ANGELES THAT IT IS WARRANTED. THE CITY COUNCIL IS FIGHTING TO FIND $8 MILLION IN TAXPAYER MONEY TO PAY FOR EXCESSIVE FORCE COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE DEPARTMENT CHIEF GATES LEADS. THE LATINO OFFICERS OF THE DEPARTMENT ARE FIGHTING SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION FLOURISHING UNDER CHIEF GATES' LEADERSHIP. RODNEY GLEN KING IS FIGHTING TO RESTORE HIS EYESIGHT AND REGAIN A NORMAL LIFE. WE SEE NO REASON WHY THE COMMISSION SHOULD HESITATE TO MAKE CHIEF GATES FIGHT TO KEEP HIS JOB. THANK YOU. |
Filename | indep-box24-23-03.pdf |
Archival file | Volume82/indep-box24-23-03.pdf |