officers - The Black Vault

FD-350 (Rev. 5-8-81)
••
•(Indicate page, name of
newspaper, city and state.)
King Beating
(Mount Clipping in Space Below)
.'\..t
• Members of the Assn. of Black Law
Enforcement Executives (ABLE) are
deeply hurt and embarrassed by the savage
brutality inflicted upon Rodney King.
The acts perpetrated by those officers
cannot be defended by any of us. Their
actions were criminal behavior-and there is
more and more evidence to show that it
was a racially motivated event. However,
we firmly believe that this is not indicative
·of the way that all police officers routinely
perform their duties.
The current situation has compromised
the strong relation·ship that the department
has had with the community and put
the police at a disadvantage in serving the
public. When public trust is lost, efforts
must be made to quickly regain that trust
so that the customary high level of law
enforcement service can be restored to the
people of Los Angeles. We must now
concentrate our· efforts on investigati_ng
and re-evaluating police-citizen contacts
because the community perceives the activity
displayed in the videotape as routine
police practice.
Much has been said and written about
Chief Daryl F. Gates and the measure of his
responsibility in regard to the incident. The
call for the resignation of Gates is a
simplistic and an unwarranted answer to a
much larger problem. The man is not the
issue. The tenure of the chief of police is
separate and apart from what should be the
.main issue. Support for ensuring that
justice is done through the execution of a
thorough investigation, the proper administration
of .discipline for the involved
officers and the establishment of a system
to repair the harm that has been done to
the community should be the main objectives.
Chief Gates has provided leadership
for this organization in all functions of
management, including training and the
administration of discipline. It is ludicrous
to place blame at the feet of one person.
Every police officer in the Los Angeles
Police Department must rightfully share
the burden and the responsibility for
rectifying the harm that has been done to
this department by being professional and
courteous in every public contact.
Whatever punishment the officers. receive
will not change what occurred to
King, but will put in place graphic steps to ·
rebuild public confidence in the LAPD and
remind officers of the necessity of maintaining
a reverence· for the law while
jealously guarding public trust.
Date: LOS ANGELES THiES
Edition: Mon, April 1, 1991
Metro Section, Page 4
TO THE TIMES
KING BEATING
r~:LETTERS
As we seek strategies to eradicate the
underlying causes of this terrible incident,
we must look to the community to maintain
and enhance those cooperative partnerships
that have sustained us ·for so many
years. /'>.san integral partof the community,
we must regain community trust in the
LO.ll ~ngel~s Police Department's ability to
do its job in a fair, humane, and evenhanded
manner. ·
LYMAN DOSTER
President of ABLE
Character: CIVIL RIGHTS
or
Classification: 8 0-3 3 B
Submitting Office:
LOS ANGELES
lndexm~·,!.Q;_a·: -------:-:::-::::::::----,
SEARCHED'--- INDEXED·---•
SERlAllZEO•--- fiLE0·----1
APR 13 1991
FBI - LOS ANGELES /
I /Zt:l
(