officers - The Black Vault

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with as sternly and flrmly as it
should have been.'.'
The Los Angeles Times published
an editorial Tuesday calling
for Gates to quit "not be-.
cause of legal necessity - there
is none - but because of moral
wisdom."
Others who have called for
Gates to quit include the American
Civil Liberties Union, the
Los Angeles chapter of the
NAACP, conservative columnist
George Will, Sen. Joseph Biden
Jr., D-Delaware, and San Jose
Police Chief Joseph McNamara.
The heightened furor comes
after the release Monday of
transcripts of patrol car computer
logs that showed one of
the officers involved in the
beating used a racial slur about
blacks in reference . to another
call just before the King beating.
The officer later said he
hadn't "beaten anyone this bad
in a long time."
The release of the transcripts,
which showed one of
the officers referring to a black
family as "right out of (the
~ovie) Gorillas in the Mist" fueled
an outcry by black civil
rights leaders and politicians.
In a statement from Hawaii,
Bradley said the comments between
the officers showed "a
callous disregard for the victim
and ·a· deeply disturbing racial
remark: The transcript sickens
and saddens me."
Bradley .called on -the Police
Commission, which is scheduled
to hold a special hearing on the
King case today, to include the
new information in its probe into
racism and mismanagement
·in the :t:..APD.
Police Commissioner Melanie
Lomax, said the panel intends
to look closely at Gates' own
·responsibility for creating an
atmosphere that may have given
the police officers the impression
they could get away
with the beating.
Gates has also been ordered
to appear before the City Council
Wednesday morning to address
concerns about how he
has dealt with police abuse
complaints in the past. ·
Despite· the outcry, none of
the city's elected leaders have
joined the calls for the chiefs
resignation, which prompted
Robertson to say he was "disappointed"
in both the mayor and
council for faUing "to provide
the leadership that one would
expect of them.".
An informal sampling of
council members found Robertson's
comments failed to sway
any lawmakers, with most saying
it was premature to demand
that Gates step down.
Councilwoma~ Jo~n Mii!re
Flores; whose district stretche'li
from the Harbor to Watts, said
. the overwhelming majority of
calls to her office supported the
1 chief.
· Councilman Zev Y aroslavslty
said responsibility for .Problems
in the LAPD goes much further
, than the chief and suggested
' Bradley, the Police Commission
and everi the council should ·be
held accountable for allowj.Dg
abuse and racism to develoP. ip.
.. the department. .