officers - The Black Vault

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tNEWS
84 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 1991 *
LOS ANGELES TIMES
. I
Foothill Station Seeks to Mend· Fences
• Police: Officers hold
open house in effort to
repair their image. The
men involved in the
Rodney King beating were
assigned to the facility. ·
.. By AMY LOUISE KAZMIN
TIMES STAFF WRITER
Los Angeles police set out the
coffee and cookies Tuesday evening
and, with warm smiles,
' opened the ·doors of the Foothill
Station in Pacoima to area residents
in an effort to repair the
division's battered image in the
wake of the Rodney G. King beating.
The forum was the first in a
series of open houses that Deputy
Police Chief Mark Kroeker-the
new San Fernando Valley-area
commander-has ordered for ev-·
ery station in his jurisdiction:
The meetings are deSigned to
familiarize citizens with. police proceedings,
the statiQps and ·officers
so- community members will feel
that they have access to police
officials and feel comfortable complaining
if they are dissatisfied
with service.
The King incident, which was
videotaped and broadcast nationwide,
was referred to only briefly
at Tuesday's .meeting, ·although
clearly it was on the minds of the
officers who presided and the more
than 30 people who attended.
"I am determined that something
good is going to come out of this,"
Capt: Tim McBride, the station
commander, told the gathering .
"That is a very difficult situation
when we have seen-that tape over
again and again. and again and
again, but we are going to grow
and we are going to be better."
But it was unclear whether the
forums will have the desired affect.
Christena Hughes of Lake View
Terrace brought her 10-year-old
twin sons so they would "understand
that there is a proper way to
act when you are stopped by the
police. If you don't act the way
they want you-which is extreme-
···ly submissive-they will beat the
hell out of you."
For nearly an hour and a half, in
the station's roll call room, a parade
of officers spoke about various ·
department anti-crime initiatives,
community cleanup efforts and
youth programs.
Captain John Mutz, who moderated
the forum, reiterated over and
over again ~hat citizens with gripes
against officers should al~'a:y$)
voice their complaints, which ·hesaid
are taken seriously. .r
King's brother called the Fooe:z
hill Station to report . what ~ii~
considered misconduct, but he w.as..,
told not to bother unless he ha4~
videotape or other evidence. ·'liJc.:l
"I want you to be satisfied whelll
you call us," Mutz said. "Thi'S' ·
. program is for you to underst~h'~~
more ab~~t us. . . . We are Y~1WE;
servants.. . .· . .uo2
Russ Settell of Sylmar, an Amtrak
official, praised th~ attemp£tQ ..
make officers more accessible: But!
he· said that police cr(;!dibility. h~~~
been undermined by some officer~~'
refusal to cooperate with·the FBIIS'·
investigation onhe Kfng beating.,,,,
"I ieel like the officers have
something to hide," he said. ~ ~:
Dorothy Barnett, a 40-year Ar~
leta resident and retired elemen\a~
ry school teacher, lamented that
the division's many positivi:!
achievements were being ove'r~
shadowed by the racism allega::·
tions. But despite that, she said, s~e·
is grateful that the beating of King,•
a black man, has drawn attentfdi:t'
. to the police. ..·.~'
"I think they have been getti!lg
away with this kind of thing for too
long," she said. "Thank God somebody
took a v_ideo." ·., ~
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