officers - The Black Vault

FD-350 (Rev. 5·8·81)
·' -
I .
•
(Mount Clipping in Space Below)
Foothill.Station S~eks to
• 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
I>olice Chief Mark Kroeker-the
new San Fernando Valley-area
commander.-has ordered for every
station in his jurisdiction.
The meetings are designed .to
familiarize citizens with police proceedings,
the stations and officers
so community members will feel
that they have access to police
officials and feel comfortable complaining
if they are dissatisfied
with service.
Mend . . Fences·
. . ""
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 extremely
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 ag~in that. citizens With gripes
Title:
IC~1TaCt1er:
01'
Classification:
LOS ANGELES TIMES
WED. MAR 27, 1991
METRO SECTION, PAGE 4
FOOTHILL STATION SEEKS
TO MEND FENCES
CIVIL RIGHTS
8 0-3 3B
Submitting Office:
IDS ANGELES
SEARCHED·--­
SERIALIZEO·--- ru.~::~~----1
MAR 2 8 1991
against officers should always
voice their complaints, which he
13aid are taken seriously.
King's brother called the Foothill
Station to report what he
considered misconduct, but he was
told not to bother unless he bad a
videotape or other evidence. ·
"I want you to be satisfied when
you call us," Mutz said. "This
program is for you to understand
more about us. . . . We are your
servants." .
Russ Settell of Sylmar, an Amtrak
official, praised the attempt to
make officers more accessible. But
he said that police credibility bas
been undermined by some officers'
refusal to cooperate with the FJ;li's
investigation of the Ki~g beating.
"I feel like the officers have
· . something to hide," he said.
: Dorothy Barnett, a 40-year' Arleta
resident and retired elementary
school teacher, lamented that
the division's many positive
achievements were · being over-
. shadowed by the racism all egations.
But despite that, she said, she
is grateful that the beating of King,
a black man, has drawn attention
to the police. · .
"I think they have been getting
away with this kind of thing for too
long," she said. "Thank God somebody
took a '1de~." ·
FBI/DOJ