officers - The Black Vault

F0·350 (Rev. 5·8·81)
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(Mount Clipping in Space Below)
FBI Starts Fast ·
With Inquiry of
King Beatihg ·
. By RONALD L. SOBLE
and LESLIE BERGER
TIMES STAFF WRITERS
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FBI agents approached Los .A,n-
.geles police officers at home ana at
;,. work Monday, opening what a top
1
FBI official described as ·an "un-.
usual" investigation into the Rodney
G. King beating and other
allegations of officer misconduct
within the Police Department's
Foothill Division·.
Scores of FBI agents were involved
in the exercise, forming
. two-member teams with the intent
of contacting all 246 officers as-
1' signed to the division, which patrols
the northeast San Fernando
Valley.
· William M. Baker, assistant FBI
pirector in charge of the criminal
investigative division in Washington,
said the fast-paced and sweeping
investigation was "unusual, but
. the beating was different."
·Another Justice Department
source familiar with the investi­
,gation said, "Usually [the FBI is]
working with state and local law.
enforcement-and now it's like
· adversaries investigating the people
they work with on everything
else."
The source said that agents are
pursuing evidence of "trends or
any instructions or management
.·directions which would indicate
~·- that police supervisors would allow
~ ·this to happen."
- · Ag~nts are pursuing a f~w spe­
.. )iific leads unrelated to the King
~·case, the source said, but added
· • ~at "the vast majority of the
. q1,1estioning is very general."
· · Justice Department civil rights
' attorneys dispatched to Los Angel­
. : es are directing the operation.
• ·At·least a dozen officers declined
Monday to be interviewed after
FBI agents would not guarantee
-: that what was said would not be
used against them in a criminal
:;.nvestigation, police sources ~~id.
f Four Foothill officers have been
~ndicted on state charges in the
· ~eating of King, an unemployed
tiA.ltadena construction worker who
)las served time for armed robbery .
~ing was clubbed and kicked after
1his Hyundai automobile was
"~topped .in Lake View Terrace for
allegedly speeding after a short
pursuit. His treatment, captured
on videotape, has prompted national
outrage and various investiga-.
tions, including the Justice Department
probe Qeing conducted l:iy the
FBI.
While the FBI has investigated
police departments in other cities,
the speed with which agents are
moving in the King matter was
seen by law enforcement officials
as remarkable. It was learned , that
the FBI hoped to finish the 'questioning
of officers by Wednesday.
"This suddenly has become the
top priority in the bureau," an FBI
agent said, speaking on the condition
of anonymity.
Sources said the FBI's interest in
the case accelerated after Presi"'
dent Bush's strong condemnation
last week of the King beating,
which he said "made me ~i~k." ·
I
nitially,.Justice Department officials
said they would consider
employing a Reconstruction-era
daw to indict officers who allegedly
~tood by without interfering while
JK.ing was beaten. A source close to
«he investigation said that ap-
. ;proach is now .in question.
;. The theory was. th~t under two
.. ~econstruction-era statutes the
:pmcers violated obligations to· stop
tthe attack. But U.S .. civil rights
tattorneys are concerned that the
·lJ>resence of the supervising ser­
!geant would weaken a charge that
rhls subordinates had an obligation
:to keep King free from harm. The
;prosecutors are concerned that deifense
attorneys could easily per­
!.suade jurors that officers had no
-;obligation to overrule a superior
Jwho was doing nothing to stop the
:~eating,:.tpe source said. .
1 11n1Ciicate page, name of
I news~>ap1er, city and state.)
LOS ANGELES TIMES
TUES. MAR 26, 1991
FRONT SECTION, PAGE 1
Title: FBI STARTS FAST WITH
INQUIRY OF KING BEATING
Character:
or
ClassificationS 0-3 3 B
Submitting Office:
IPS ANGELES
CIVIL RIGHTS
MAR 2 7 1991
t Questions asked of five officers
.i:known tb have .been interviewed
:~by agents :ranged from their
t'knowledge of any previous dis­
. 1 plays of excessive force to whether
:·they knew of any ni~knames of
.:~officers in the division, police
:.sources said. .
" Agents also were said to have
: asked officers whether they knew
:.any of the officers involved in the
! incident and if they were ~ware of
; any racial bias il!. the Foothill