officers - The Black Vault

F0-350 (Rev. 5·8·8 1)
--icate page, name of
newspaper, city and state.)
(Mount Clipping in Space Below) .
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
.---------~=.:..:.:...=.:::.::.:.::~!...::.:....=:.::.::...:....::..::..:.::...:..:..:..________---joate: THURS. MAR 7, 1991
Chief Gates
7
Must Step Aside.
·~··~,~ ·~ • ••
Police Chief Daryl Gates has consistently
set a tone for his depar.tment that is ·
a primary cause of its
unfortunate record of violent
and abusive behavior.
In the early 1980s, he
scoffed at the fact that
several black men had
died in police custody
·RAMONA from police choke holds.
RIPSTON
His explanation? Blacks
·didn't have "normal"
Exec. ~irect?r, winqpipes, and -were
So. Cahforma ·more susceptible to such
t. A_!11eri?n Ciyil damage. In 1989, Gates
& L1berttes Umon . replied to a finding that
~· · · an innocent Latino fami-
1 ly had been beaten by police by saying that
t the family was lucky that their beating had
f rtot ·be~n worse. Just a few months ago,
t Gat~s suggested that all casual drug users
r-. be shot. Then he disparaged the entire
t Salvadoran community because of the
!~ criminal behavior of one Salvadoran man.
i : What happened :=;unday morning was
i unfortunately not an aberration in the
~ attitude· and behavior of the Los Angeles
t · Police Department. The consistent violent
behavior exhibited by its officers, -combined
with blatant mistreatment of minorities,
indicates a problem with roots deep
and wide. A police force is only effective in
preventing lawlessness when its own officers
are not promoting lawless behavior1
We can't allow Daryl Gates to draw a
circle around the 10 men who were present
at the beating and pretend that the probl~m
has been taken care of. The brutality
that was exhibited Sunday is part of a
much larger problem of leadership gone
awry.
After years of controversy, aft'eryears of
multimillion-dollar hospital and trauma
• bills being paid out to victims of police
.misconduct, there is only one answer to the
:~ problem facing Los Angeles today. In the :
: interest of the department and the city, the
time has come for Chief Gates to step aside.
L
Edition:METRO SECTION, PAGE 7
Title~
CHIEF GATES MUST STEP
ASIDE
Character: CIVIL RIGHTS
or
Classification: 44A-LA-119954; SO-
Submitting Office:
WS ANGELES
lndexinf!!g.:..: -----~==------,
SEARCHED·--- INDEXEO, ___ I
SER!All~ED•--- fiLEO, ____ I
MAR 19 1991
FBI -
lOS ANGELES