Huffman FTO interview 017, 1991-06-11 |
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CONFIDENTIAL la:. NAME OF INTERVIEWER: Julie Huffman lb. DATE OF INTERVIEW: June 11, 1991 le. LENGTH OF INTERVIEW: 2 hours ld. NOTES: -------------------------------------------------------------2. I.D. CODE: 017 3. SEX: Male 4. RACE: White 5. AGE: - 6 • DIVISION: 77th • 7. CURRENT RANK/ASSIGNMENT: 8. MISC. PERSONAL BACKGROUND: 9 • MISC. L.A.P.D. BACKGROUND: • 1 CONFIDENTIAL 10. FIELD TRAINING -- SELECTION OF F.T.O.s: This officer became a PIII about three years ago. He has been working with probationers, however, for almost five years. 11. FIELD TRAINING -- TRAINING OF F.T.O.s: This officer took the Academy's field training course right after he received his promotion. He did not find it particularly helpful because he had been working with probationers for about two years before he took the course. The course deals primarily with documentation, but also touches on ethnic sensitivity issues. Very little of the course is conducted by people who actually train probationers , so it isn't really a "nuts and bolts" course. This officer believes that the department should provide training officers with more guidance in training techniques. This officer also indicated that many training officers are "old cops," who are burned out. On the other hand, many are also too inexperienced to be good training officers. In this officer's opinion, police officers should be required to have at least five years of experience before they can become training officers. 12. FIELD TRAINING -- MISCONDUCT BY I DISCIPLINE OF F.T.O.s: 13. FIELD TRAINING EVALUATION OF F.T.O.s' PERFORMANCE: 14. FIELD TRAINING ASSIGNMENT(S) TO PROBATIONERS: Although training officers have little formal input in the probationers to which they are assigned, this officer indicated that he tries to avoid being assigned to bad probationers. At times, however, he is forced to take the "problem children." In this officer's opinion, recent graduates of the Academy are poorly trained and many of them lack the basic skills necessary to become a good police officer. He feels as if now he has to do the Academy's job as well as his own. 15. FIELD TRAINING -- RELATIONSHIP WITH I TRAINING OF PROBATIONERS: This officer expressed the view that being a training officer today is less enjoyable than it used to be because many new probationers fail to understand that their probationary period is "(a) a period of training; and (b) a period of initiation." A lot of the recent Academy graduates are people who simply want to "work the system," and these 2 • CONFIDENTIAL people are difficult to train. The officer also indicated that many recent Academy graduates have poor writing skills. They use run-on sentences, can't spell, and "think Strunk & White is a rock band." This officer believes that the department should screen out people who have poor writing skills and that it should raise its entrance requirements. Although he believes that many minorities would be excluded if the entrance requirements were increased, he also stated that he thinks Hispanic recruits are generally good because they tend to be well educated and are also street wise. In describing a good probationer, this officer indicated that you need a person who has "a modicum of courage." A person who is able to get over their fear and do their job. It is also important to have people who can readily adapt to different situations, and can learn to make judgments about people quickly. Finally, it is important to have people who have good tactical skills. He believes that the Academy fails to teach new recruits adequate tactical skills because the people who are doing the training have not worked on the street recently. This officer believes that the Academy should rotate training officers off the street and into the Academy and then back again. In training recruits on how to deal with people, this officer tells his recruits that they ought to treat people the way "they allow themselves to be treated." He tells his probationers that they know they have done a good traffic stop if the person they have stopped says thank you after they receive their ticket. He believes that 99% of the problems police officers can encounter can be avoided if the police officer learns how to talk to people and how to get them laughing. This is a skill that probationers learn by watching; it simply can't be taught in the Academy. This officer believes that it is important to explain to people why they have been stopped or detained once the situation is stabilized. He believes that most of the time, if they are given a reasonable explanation, people will understand what has happened to them. He noted, however, that he does not apologize as a general rule. He stated that this is not a "macho thing," but if you apologize it gets the person thinking that maybe you did something wrong and it makes a personnel complaint more likely. In this officer's opinion, most training officers do not emphasize talking enough. In addition, most training officers are not engaged in "active training" enough. They don't talk to their probationers enough, or spend enough time with them discussing the situations that they encounter. When this officer gets a new probationer, he frequently asks them, "How many times have you shot your gun? How many times have 3 • CONFIDENTIAL you gotten in a fight? How many times have you talked to somebody? Now what do you think is the most important?" When he puts it that way, most probationers realize that learning how to talk to people is probably the most important skill they can learn during their probationary period. Most probationers haven't thought of it that way before they get to him. This officer also believes it is important to teach new probationers not to taunt people after they have been arrested. He thinks that it is not uncommon for police officers, especially young officers, to taunt people. This generally happens when the person really gets to you. It doesn't happen often, but it happens. Police officers need to have about five years of experience before they are able to really let the comments made by suspects and members of the community roll off their back. With regard to misconduct, this officer generally tells his probationers that he is not going to get them into trouble. If they do get into trouble, he tells them to tell the department what happened. They shouldn't worry about him, because he will simply take his days, but they should be truthful because otherwise they could lose their job. When he talks to them about reporting misconduct by other officers, he tries to make them understand that they shouldn't report something they see that makes them feel uncomfortable if they don't understand the entire situation. If a recruit expresses the opinion that he or she would not report misconduct, he talks to them about the fact that misconduct is generally a crime and that they have an obligation to report it. 16. FIELD TRAINING --EVALUATION OF PROBATIONERS: This officer indicated that the Academy no longer deselects recru its. He believes that there are not enough people flunking out of the Academy, because they know that all they have to do to get by is the minimum. Working with officers like that is very difficult, because they are generally unwilling to do what is necessary to do the job. This officer also indicated that he had recently worked with a probationer who is perceived by other training officer to be a bad police officer, but whom he was able to turn around. This probationer had the attitude that she was already "a full-fledged member of the fraternity," but she had a reputation for having poor geographic skills and for cowardice. Although this probationer was a good report writer, she was convinced that she was a great report writer. This officer indicated that he was able to help her improve both her tactical skills and her ability to determine where she was so that her reputation for cowardice diminished. 4 CONFIDENTIAL 17. ROLL CALL TRAINING: 18. USE OF FORCE: Although this officer indicated his belief that the excessive use of force is not a serious problem on the L.A.P.D., he did comment that the department's use-of-force policy has a big gap between verbal commands and the use of the baton. Police officers do not have adequate tools for dealing with people who "passively resist but won't stand still," although they do have the tools necessary to deal with people who violently resist. This officer is not sure that the choke hold is the answer to the department's policies, primarily because it was banned before he became a member of the force. As a general rule, police officers try to prevent each other from using excessive force. If a police officer is getting angry with a suspect or simply can't handle the situation, the officer's partner will generally come in and take over. In this officer's opinion, this sort of informal disciplining takes place frequently. Most police officers are willing to step in and stop misconduct that they witness because they believe that they are also helping to save the police officer. This officer also believes that the police department is "getting much too hesitant to use force." This is because many police officers are worried about personnel complaints and civil liability. For that reason, most officers "don't hurry to answer radio calls." Because they are afraid of civil liability or personnel complaints, police officers are less willing today to "stretch" for the public than they used to be. 19. RODNEY KING INCIDENT: This officer was unwilling to describe the conduct he saw on the Rodney King videotape as misconduct. He admitted that he was shocked the first time he saw the tape, but now when he looks at it he believes that the officers may have been justified. In his opinion, Rodney King never gives up. When the audio portion of the tape is enhanced, people might be able to hear officers making racial slurs, but they will never be able to hear King say, "I give," because he never did. In this officer's opinion, all of King's actions indicated that he was either crazy or on PCP. When the Tazer didn't work, the cops rightfully believed that they were in trouble. The officers had no option but to use their batons on King because he was not complying with their demands. In this officer's opinion, a swarm technique would not have 5 • • CONFIDENTIAL worked because Rodney King was too big and too violent. This officer also indicated that, if he had been present at the scene, he probably would not have intervened to stop the use of force. First of all, there was a sargeant on the scene and it was his job to make the decisions. Secondly, the next step available to the officers in taking King into custody wasn't "a step down. It's a step up, it's a gun ." This officer also indicated that he knew Stacy Koon well because Stacy used to work at 77th. He described Koon as "one of the finest men I've ever known." He also indicated that Koon had saved the life of "a black drag queen whore," by giving the person CPR. The same story was told to me by another police officer. See, Memo No. Huffman-004. 20. CITIZEN COMPLAINTS: In this officer's opinion, the department is going overboard in combating the image that the department does not take complaints from citizens. He believes that that image was never an accurate one. In addition, the department appears to be increasing the discipline given to officers who engage in excessive force. He thinks that the department is going to switch from suspending people to terminating them. This officer also indicated it would be nice if sargeants were armed with video equipment so that they could videotape encounters between police officers and citizens. This officer believes that citizen complaints have become more common since the King incident. It used to be very rare for people to ask to speak to a supervisor, now at least the threat of complaints and the desire to speak with supervisors have increased. People are now literally asking to be hit, saying, "I'm going to be the new Rodney King." Although this officer believes that it is probably too easy for citizens to file complaints against police officers, he also acknowledges that citizens have to have an avenue for complaining about the department. A lot of people file false complaints. This officer believes that the department should require people who file personnel complaints to participate in the process. The complaints should ba dropped if the person refuses to cooperate with the Internal Affairs Division investigation. Finally, this officer indicated that the department's rule requiring corroboration from independent witnesses cannot be changed. Without such a rule, police officers will refuse to work. In this officer's opinion, once the department decides that excessive force has occurred, the department disciplines it very heavily. 6 ~. • • • CONFIDENTIAL 21. INTERNAL DISCIPLINE: This officer indicated that most of the discipline that occurs in the department is done informally. People get a reputation for being belligerent and, if they have such a reputation, other officers will not want to work with them. In addition, supervisors will make it a point to show up more frequently to check on the officer's behavior. The department will also split partners up if they believe that the partners are encouraging each other in the use of force. When this happens to police officers, they tend to try to change their tactics because it is very important to police officers that their peers approve of their work. This officer believes that the amount of discipline police officers receive depends very heavily upon their rank. Patrol officers, especially PII and PIII officers, will take the hardest hits, and the discipline becomes more lenient the further up the ladder you go. As an example, this officer pointed to the official reprimand given to Assistant Chief Vernon for misusing the department's computer systems. He expressed the view that if he had done that, he would have been fired. Many officers believe that the disciplinary system is unfair and this is having a negative effect on morale . This officer also indicated that police officers find the disciplinary system to be very stressful. Even if the complaint is not true, and they believe they will be exonerated, just going through the process is difficult for most police officers. Police officers believe that the fact that they have had complaints filed against them, even if the complaints are not sustained, will affect their promotional opportunities and will affect the views of their superiors and their fellow officers. 22. PROMOTION: This officer expressed the view that police officers need to have more time on the force before they are eligible for promotions. In addition, he believes that the time needs to be time in the field, rather than time at a "inside" job. He expressed a lot of bitterness, and indicated that many patrol officers share his view, over the fact that police officers who have many years in the field generally lack promotional opportunities. Officers with a lot of patrol experience are generally denied "inside" jobs because the department looks down on its patrol officers. 23 • ASSIGNMENTS/TRANSFERS: 7 • • CONFIDENTIAL - 24. COMMUNITY POLICING I COMMUNITY RELATIONS: This officer believes that the department places too much emphasis on the number of t i ckets police officers write and on response time statistics. He thinks it would be nice for the department to have more cops walking a foot beat, but with the size of this city he believes that that would be impossible. He thinks the department's community relations efforts are adequate, given the department's current budget. He thinks it would be nice to have more time to stop and talk with citizens, but, "the crime problem is horrendous," and the police department can't really afford that luxury. 25. GAYS/LESBIANS: This officer indicated that one of his best partners was fired after he was arrested by an undercover vice officer for soliciting homosexual sex in a men's room. Eighteen {18) other police officers appeared at the gay officer's board of rights hearing to protest his termination, but the gay officer was terminated anyway. This officer feels very strongly that his partner would not have been terminated if he had been arrested for soliciting heterosexual sex. This officer indicated his believe that, although the department used to ask questions about sexual orientation during background investigatiions, it no longer follows that practice. He indicated that, during his background investigation, questions about his sexual orientation were asked. This officer expressed the opinion that he would not mind working with a gay police officer, "as long as they don't do it in the street and frighten the horses. Or do children." He also expressed the view that gay police officers would be acceptable as long as they didn't go "mincing around in the field." Finally, this officer indicated that many police officers would feel uncomfortable working with gay men. 26. WOMEN: This officer expressed the view that attractive women tend to get promoted more frequently than unattractive women. This officer indicated that many police officers feel safer working with male partners because men tend to be physically stronger, and because you can't talk to a woman the way you can talk to a man. On the other hand, most people have "resigned themselves to working with women." This officer believes that a lot of "real horror stories" have been hired by the department in its effort to increase the number of women on the force. He also indicated, however, that some of the best partners he has ever had were women. 8 • • CONFIDENTIAL .. 27. RACIAL MINORITIES: In this officer's opinion, race relations within the department is not a particularly serious problem. Although he thought the situation appeared to be okay, he also said that he would be curious to talk to older black officers to see how they would feel. He also indicated that many police officers are racist in their personal beliefs, but he believes that most police officers leave those beliefs at home when they come to work. This is because most police officers know that the department will "come down hard" on racist behavior. He indicated that the department hires a lot of "blue collar stiffs who aren't the most enlightened people in the world." He makes it a point to tell new probationers that if they have racist views, they have to leave them at home. If they can't do that, they shouldn't have this job. It is also important to be aware that police officers generally see people at their worst. "It's not the Cosby show or even Sanford and Son out there." 28. ATTITUDES/OPINIONS RE: L.A.P.D.: This officer expressed the view that although he used to like working in patrol, he doesn't like it any more, "not today." He believes that most citizens and most judges are too willing to presume that a police officer is guilty if anything goes wrong, and that perception is affecting morale on the department. "I've worked in 77th for five years protecting black lives and black property, and now I'm just another racist cop." This officer indicated that he has put in a transfer to North Hollywood Division and expects to be working in the valley very soon. This officer also expressed a great deal of animosity about the way the department's managers treat the patrol divisions. Although they give lip service to the idea that the patrol division is the "backbone of the police department," they don't really believe that. In his opinion, Gates and the other upper level managers have absolutely no concept of what police officers do for a living. Upper management is too isolated. You never see upper management in the station house talking to police officers. In addition, these people haven't spent any time in the field and don't understand what's happening. There is an unspoken belief within the department that people who have spent many years on patrol are stupid and ought not to be promoted. "I have the worst job on the department and there's nowhere to go." 9 • • CONFIDENTIAL 29. REFORM SUGGESTIONS: This officer believes that the department needs to support its patrol divisions more strongly. Patrol officers need to be given greater promotional opportunities, and ought to be given a pay differential because they work under such unpleasant circumstances. He believes that people who have "inside" jobs ought to be rotated through patrol positions on a regular basis. In addition, the upper management of the department ought to be required to do ride-alongs on a regular basis so that they will be more aware of what's happening in the street. This officer also believes that people should not be promoted until they have spent a significant amount of time working in the field. Many of the field supervisors, including sargeants and lieutenants, have very little experience, and none of it in the field. These people are difficult to work with and don't really understand what a police officer's job entails. 30. CODE OF SILENCE: This officer acknowledged that police officers sometimes cover up for one another and lie for each other. Police officers are reluctant to report every violation of policy that they see because they know that if they do report every violation they will be "very alone out there," and that when they violate policy they are certain to be burned by their peers. In deciding whether to report misconduct, this officer looks at the seriousness of the violation and tries to judge whether the police officer involved has his "heart in the right place." Police officers are very careful about the person they choose to report violations of policy to. You choose the person you speak to based upon their knowledge and how much you trust them. You want to know that the complaint is going to be investigated, and not just kissed off, and that it will be investigated fairly. 50. MISCELLANEOUS: 10
Object Description
Title | LAPD interviews #3(c) (1 of 2), 1991 May-June |
Description | Los Angeles Police Department interviews #3(c) (1 of 2), 1991 May 30 - June 24. 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 | 1991-05-31/1991-06-19 |
Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California |
Date created | 1991-05-31/1991-06-19 |
Type | texts |
Format | 201 p. |
Format (aat) |
labels (identifying artifacts) transcriptions (documents) |
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 | Los Angeles Police Department Interviews |
Box and folder | box 24, folder 15 |
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-box24-15 |
Description
Title | Huffman FTO interview 017, 1991-06-11 |
Description | Huffman FTO interviews - 017 White male 77th division |
Coverage date | 1991-06-11 |
Date created | 1991-06-11 |
Type | texts |
Format | 10 p. |
Format (aat) | transcriptions (documents) |
Format (imt) | application/pdf |
Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
Series | Independent Commission File List |
File | Los Angeles Police Department Interviews |
Box and folder | box 24, folder 15, item 19 |
Physical access | Contact: Special Collections, Doheny Memorial Library, Libraries, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189; specol@dots.usc.edu |
Full text | CONFIDENTIAL la:. NAME OF INTERVIEWER: Julie Huffman lb. DATE OF INTERVIEW: June 11, 1991 le. LENGTH OF INTERVIEW: 2 hours ld. NOTES: -------------------------------------------------------------2. I.D. CODE: 017 3. SEX: Male 4. RACE: White 5. AGE: - 6 • DIVISION: 77th • 7. CURRENT RANK/ASSIGNMENT: 8. MISC. PERSONAL BACKGROUND: 9 • MISC. L.A.P.D. BACKGROUND: • 1 CONFIDENTIAL 10. FIELD TRAINING -- SELECTION OF F.T.O.s: This officer became a PIII about three years ago. He has been working with probationers, however, for almost five years. 11. FIELD TRAINING -- TRAINING OF F.T.O.s: This officer took the Academy's field training course right after he received his promotion. He did not find it particularly helpful because he had been working with probationers for about two years before he took the course. The course deals primarily with documentation, but also touches on ethnic sensitivity issues. Very little of the course is conducted by people who actually train probationers , so it isn't really a "nuts and bolts" course. This officer believes that the department should provide training officers with more guidance in training techniques. This officer also indicated that many training officers are "old cops," who are burned out. On the other hand, many are also too inexperienced to be good training officers. In this officer's opinion, police officers should be required to have at least five years of experience before they can become training officers. 12. FIELD TRAINING -- MISCONDUCT BY I DISCIPLINE OF F.T.O.s: 13. FIELD TRAINING EVALUATION OF F.T.O.s' PERFORMANCE: 14. FIELD TRAINING ASSIGNMENT(S) TO PROBATIONERS: Although training officers have little formal input in the probationers to which they are assigned, this officer indicated that he tries to avoid being assigned to bad probationers. At times, however, he is forced to take the "problem children." In this officer's opinion, recent graduates of the Academy are poorly trained and many of them lack the basic skills necessary to become a good police officer. He feels as if now he has to do the Academy's job as well as his own. 15. FIELD TRAINING -- RELATIONSHIP WITH I TRAINING OF PROBATIONERS: This officer expressed the view that being a training officer today is less enjoyable than it used to be because many new probationers fail to understand that their probationary period is "(a) a period of training; and (b) a period of initiation." A lot of the recent Academy graduates are people who simply want to "work the system," and these 2 • CONFIDENTIAL people are difficult to train. The officer also indicated that many recent Academy graduates have poor writing skills. They use run-on sentences, can't spell, and "think Strunk & White is a rock band." This officer believes that the department should screen out people who have poor writing skills and that it should raise its entrance requirements. Although he believes that many minorities would be excluded if the entrance requirements were increased, he also stated that he thinks Hispanic recruits are generally good because they tend to be well educated and are also street wise. In describing a good probationer, this officer indicated that you need a person who has "a modicum of courage." A person who is able to get over their fear and do their job. It is also important to have people who can readily adapt to different situations, and can learn to make judgments about people quickly. Finally, it is important to have people who have good tactical skills. He believes that the Academy fails to teach new recruits adequate tactical skills because the people who are doing the training have not worked on the street recently. This officer believes that the Academy should rotate training officers off the street and into the Academy and then back again. In training recruits on how to deal with people, this officer tells his recruits that they ought to treat people the way "they allow themselves to be treated." He tells his probationers that they know they have done a good traffic stop if the person they have stopped says thank you after they receive their ticket. He believes that 99% of the problems police officers can encounter can be avoided if the police officer learns how to talk to people and how to get them laughing. This is a skill that probationers learn by watching; it simply can't be taught in the Academy. This officer believes that it is important to explain to people why they have been stopped or detained once the situation is stabilized. He believes that most of the time, if they are given a reasonable explanation, people will understand what has happened to them. He noted, however, that he does not apologize as a general rule. He stated that this is not a "macho thing," but if you apologize it gets the person thinking that maybe you did something wrong and it makes a personnel complaint more likely. In this officer's opinion, most training officers do not emphasize talking enough. In addition, most training officers are not engaged in "active training" enough. They don't talk to their probationers enough, or spend enough time with them discussing the situations that they encounter. When this officer gets a new probationer, he frequently asks them, "How many times have you shot your gun? How many times have 3 • CONFIDENTIAL you gotten in a fight? How many times have you talked to somebody? Now what do you think is the most important?" When he puts it that way, most probationers realize that learning how to talk to people is probably the most important skill they can learn during their probationary period. Most probationers haven't thought of it that way before they get to him. This officer also believes it is important to teach new probationers not to taunt people after they have been arrested. He thinks that it is not uncommon for police officers, especially young officers, to taunt people. This generally happens when the person really gets to you. It doesn't happen often, but it happens. Police officers need to have about five years of experience before they are able to really let the comments made by suspects and members of the community roll off their back. With regard to misconduct, this officer generally tells his probationers that he is not going to get them into trouble. If they do get into trouble, he tells them to tell the department what happened. They shouldn't worry about him, because he will simply take his days, but they should be truthful because otherwise they could lose their job. When he talks to them about reporting misconduct by other officers, he tries to make them understand that they shouldn't report something they see that makes them feel uncomfortable if they don't understand the entire situation. If a recruit expresses the opinion that he or she would not report misconduct, he talks to them about the fact that misconduct is generally a crime and that they have an obligation to report it. 16. FIELD TRAINING --EVALUATION OF PROBATIONERS: This officer indicated that the Academy no longer deselects recru its. He believes that there are not enough people flunking out of the Academy, because they know that all they have to do to get by is the minimum. Working with officers like that is very difficult, because they are generally unwilling to do what is necessary to do the job. This officer also indicated that he had recently worked with a probationer who is perceived by other training officer to be a bad police officer, but whom he was able to turn around. This probationer had the attitude that she was already "a full-fledged member of the fraternity," but she had a reputation for having poor geographic skills and for cowardice. Although this probationer was a good report writer, she was convinced that she was a great report writer. This officer indicated that he was able to help her improve both her tactical skills and her ability to determine where she was so that her reputation for cowardice diminished. 4 CONFIDENTIAL 17. ROLL CALL TRAINING: 18. USE OF FORCE: Although this officer indicated his belief that the excessive use of force is not a serious problem on the L.A.P.D., he did comment that the department's use-of-force policy has a big gap between verbal commands and the use of the baton. Police officers do not have adequate tools for dealing with people who "passively resist but won't stand still," although they do have the tools necessary to deal with people who violently resist. This officer is not sure that the choke hold is the answer to the department's policies, primarily because it was banned before he became a member of the force. As a general rule, police officers try to prevent each other from using excessive force. If a police officer is getting angry with a suspect or simply can't handle the situation, the officer's partner will generally come in and take over. In this officer's opinion, this sort of informal disciplining takes place frequently. Most police officers are willing to step in and stop misconduct that they witness because they believe that they are also helping to save the police officer. This officer also believes that the police department is "getting much too hesitant to use force." This is because many police officers are worried about personnel complaints and civil liability. For that reason, most officers "don't hurry to answer radio calls." Because they are afraid of civil liability or personnel complaints, police officers are less willing today to "stretch" for the public than they used to be. 19. RODNEY KING INCIDENT: This officer was unwilling to describe the conduct he saw on the Rodney King videotape as misconduct. He admitted that he was shocked the first time he saw the tape, but now when he looks at it he believes that the officers may have been justified. In his opinion, Rodney King never gives up. When the audio portion of the tape is enhanced, people might be able to hear officers making racial slurs, but they will never be able to hear King say, "I give," because he never did. In this officer's opinion, all of King's actions indicated that he was either crazy or on PCP. When the Tazer didn't work, the cops rightfully believed that they were in trouble. The officers had no option but to use their batons on King because he was not complying with their demands. In this officer's opinion, a swarm technique would not have 5 • • CONFIDENTIAL worked because Rodney King was too big and too violent. This officer also indicated that, if he had been present at the scene, he probably would not have intervened to stop the use of force. First of all, there was a sargeant on the scene and it was his job to make the decisions. Secondly, the next step available to the officers in taking King into custody wasn't "a step down. It's a step up, it's a gun ." This officer also indicated that he knew Stacy Koon well because Stacy used to work at 77th. He described Koon as "one of the finest men I've ever known." He also indicated that Koon had saved the life of "a black drag queen whore," by giving the person CPR. The same story was told to me by another police officer. See, Memo No. Huffman-004. 20. CITIZEN COMPLAINTS: In this officer's opinion, the department is going overboard in combating the image that the department does not take complaints from citizens. He believes that that image was never an accurate one. In addition, the department appears to be increasing the discipline given to officers who engage in excessive force. He thinks that the department is going to switch from suspending people to terminating them. This officer also indicated it would be nice if sargeants were armed with video equipment so that they could videotape encounters between police officers and citizens. This officer believes that citizen complaints have become more common since the King incident. It used to be very rare for people to ask to speak to a supervisor, now at least the threat of complaints and the desire to speak with supervisors have increased. People are now literally asking to be hit, saying, "I'm going to be the new Rodney King." Although this officer believes that it is probably too easy for citizens to file complaints against police officers, he also acknowledges that citizens have to have an avenue for complaining about the department. A lot of people file false complaints. This officer believes that the department should require people who file personnel complaints to participate in the process. The complaints should ba dropped if the person refuses to cooperate with the Internal Affairs Division investigation. Finally, this officer indicated that the department's rule requiring corroboration from independent witnesses cannot be changed. Without such a rule, police officers will refuse to work. In this officer's opinion, once the department decides that excessive force has occurred, the department disciplines it very heavily. 6 ~. • • • CONFIDENTIAL 21. INTERNAL DISCIPLINE: This officer indicated that most of the discipline that occurs in the department is done informally. People get a reputation for being belligerent and, if they have such a reputation, other officers will not want to work with them. In addition, supervisors will make it a point to show up more frequently to check on the officer's behavior. The department will also split partners up if they believe that the partners are encouraging each other in the use of force. When this happens to police officers, they tend to try to change their tactics because it is very important to police officers that their peers approve of their work. This officer believes that the amount of discipline police officers receive depends very heavily upon their rank. Patrol officers, especially PII and PIII officers, will take the hardest hits, and the discipline becomes more lenient the further up the ladder you go. As an example, this officer pointed to the official reprimand given to Assistant Chief Vernon for misusing the department's computer systems. He expressed the view that if he had done that, he would have been fired. Many officers believe that the disciplinary system is unfair and this is having a negative effect on morale . This officer also indicated that police officers find the disciplinary system to be very stressful. Even if the complaint is not true, and they believe they will be exonerated, just going through the process is difficult for most police officers. Police officers believe that the fact that they have had complaints filed against them, even if the complaints are not sustained, will affect their promotional opportunities and will affect the views of their superiors and their fellow officers. 22. PROMOTION: This officer expressed the view that police officers need to have more time on the force before they are eligible for promotions. In addition, he believes that the time needs to be time in the field, rather than time at a "inside" job. He expressed a lot of bitterness, and indicated that many patrol officers share his view, over the fact that police officers who have many years in the field generally lack promotional opportunities. Officers with a lot of patrol experience are generally denied "inside" jobs because the department looks down on its patrol officers. 23 • ASSIGNMENTS/TRANSFERS: 7 • • CONFIDENTIAL - 24. COMMUNITY POLICING I COMMUNITY RELATIONS: This officer believes that the department places too much emphasis on the number of t i ckets police officers write and on response time statistics. He thinks it would be nice for the department to have more cops walking a foot beat, but with the size of this city he believes that that would be impossible. He thinks the department's community relations efforts are adequate, given the department's current budget. He thinks it would be nice to have more time to stop and talk with citizens, but, "the crime problem is horrendous," and the police department can't really afford that luxury. 25. GAYS/LESBIANS: This officer indicated that one of his best partners was fired after he was arrested by an undercover vice officer for soliciting homosexual sex in a men's room. Eighteen {18) other police officers appeared at the gay officer's board of rights hearing to protest his termination, but the gay officer was terminated anyway. This officer feels very strongly that his partner would not have been terminated if he had been arrested for soliciting heterosexual sex. This officer indicated his believe that, although the department used to ask questions about sexual orientation during background investigatiions, it no longer follows that practice. He indicated that, during his background investigation, questions about his sexual orientation were asked. This officer expressed the opinion that he would not mind working with a gay police officer, "as long as they don't do it in the street and frighten the horses. Or do children." He also expressed the view that gay police officers would be acceptable as long as they didn't go "mincing around in the field." Finally, this officer indicated that many police officers would feel uncomfortable working with gay men. 26. WOMEN: This officer expressed the view that attractive women tend to get promoted more frequently than unattractive women. This officer indicated that many police officers feel safer working with male partners because men tend to be physically stronger, and because you can't talk to a woman the way you can talk to a man. On the other hand, most people have "resigned themselves to working with women." This officer believes that a lot of "real horror stories" have been hired by the department in its effort to increase the number of women on the force. He also indicated, however, that some of the best partners he has ever had were women. 8 • • CONFIDENTIAL .. 27. RACIAL MINORITIES: In this officer's opinion, race relations within the department is not a particularly serious problem. Although he thought the situation appeared to be okay, he also said that he would be curious to talk to older black officers to see how they would feel. He also indicated that many police officers are racist in their personal beliefs, but he believes that most police officers leave those beliefs at home when they come to work. This is because most police officers know that the department will "come down hard" on racist behavior. He indicated that the department hires a lot of "blue collar stiffs who aren't the most enlightened people in the world." He makes it a point to tell new probationers that if they have racist views, they have to leave them at home. If they can't do that, they shouldn't have this job. It is also important to be aware that police officers generally see people at their worst. "It's not the Cosby show or even Sanford and Son out there." 28. ATTITUDES/OPINIONS RE: L.A.P.D.: This officer expressed the view that although he used to like working in patrol, he doesn't like it any more, "not today." He believes that most citizens and most judges are too willing to presume that a police officer is guilty if anything goes wrong, and that perception is affecting morale on the department. "I've worked in 77th for five years protecting black lives and black property, and now I'm just another racist cop." This officer indicated that he has put in a transfer to North Hollywood Division and expects to be working in the valley very soon. This officer also expressed a great deal of animosity about the way the department's managers treat the patrol divisions. Although they give lip service to the idea that the patrol division is the "backbone of the police department," they don't really believe that. In his opinion, Gates and the other upper level managers have absolutely no concept of what police officers do for a living. Upper management is too isolated. You never see upper management in the station house talking to police officers. In addition, these people haven't spent any time in the field and don't understand what's happening. There is an unspoken belief within the department that people who have spent many years on patrol are stupid and ought not to be promoted. "I have the worst job on the department and there's nowhere to go." 9 • • CONFIDENTIAL 29. REFORM SUGGESTIONS: This officer believes that the department needs to support its patrol divisions more strongly. Patrol officers need to be given greater promotional opportunities, and ought to be given a pay differential because they work under such unpleasant circumstances. He believes that people who have "inside" jobs ought to be rotated through patrol positions on a regular basis. In addition, the upper management of the department ought to be required to do ride-alongs on a regular basis so that they will be more aware of what's happening in the street. This officer also believes that people should not be promoted until they have spent a significant amount of time working in the field. Many of the field supervisors, including sargeants and lieutenants, have very little experience, and none of it in the field. These people are difficult to work with and don't really understand what a police officer's job entails. 30. CODE OF SILENCE: This officer acknowledged that police officers sometimes cover up for one another and lie for each other. Police officers are reluctant to report every violation of policy that they see because they know that if they do report every violation they will be "very alone out there," and that when they violate policy they are certain to be burned by their peers. In deciding whether to report misconduct, this officer looks at the seriousness of the violation and tries to judge whether the police officer involved has his "heart in the right place." Police officers are very careful about the person they choose to report violations of policy to. You choose the person you speak to based upon their knowledge and how much you trust them. You want to know that the complaint is going to be investigated, and not just kissed off, and that it will be investigated fairly. 50. MISCELLANEOUS: 10 |
Filename | indep-box24-15-19.pdf |
Archival file | Volume81/indep-box24-15-19.pdf |