officers - The Black Vault

The Police Commission, the
;city Council, the District Attorney's
Office and the U.S. Justice
Department also are investigating
aspects of the LAPD in the
wake of the videotaped beating
. of King by police officers in Lake
View Terrace March 3.
Bradley said he hopes the commission's
report, expected to be
completed in 90 days, will help
end what he called a crisis of con-
. fidence in the LAPD that result­
·ed from the King incident.
"I think there is a need for us
to restore public confidence in
· ·the LAPD and 'to restore the
' prestige and morale of the men
and women who make up that
1
great department," Bradley said.
; "I can think of no better way to
'start that process than by appointing
a high-l~vel, independent
commission that will bring
to this study the prestige that
each of them enjoys individual-
'l:ly."
Four LAPD officers have been
indicted on criminal charges in
... the beating of King, 25, and the
Los Angeles County g·rand jury
is reviewing charges against 17
other officers who witnessed the
:beating. The incident sparked
widespread calls for Gates to resign,
but the chief said he will not
.retire until public confidence in
the department is restored.
Bradley said that the police is­
. sues the Christopher Commis­
; sion will review will include:
• Whether the City Charter
should be changed regarding the
appointment, disciplining andre­
·moval of the police chief, who is
;'protected by the civil service
commission.
• The selection, training and
'disciplining of officers.
, • The effectiveness of the
~-command structure.
• What the proper role should
t:be for the Police Commission
. EXAMINING THE LAPD
IThere are now six agencies or panels examining the Los Angeles Police
Department in the wake of the police beating·of Rodney King on
March 3. Here is a look at their investigations:
• The Christopher Commission: Named by Mayor Tom Bradley on Monday,
the commission headed by former Deputy Attorney General Warren
Christopher will look at the entire structure and operation of the LAPD,
including the role of the police chief and the Police Commission. It will
also examine the investigation and prosecution by the District Attorney's
Office of officers accused of using excessive force.
• The Arguelles Commission: The commission, headed by former state
Supreme Court Justice John Arguelles, will look specifically at the issue
of excessive force and at police training procedures. Officials say
its scope will be more narrow than that of the Christopher. Commission.
• The Los Angeles CitY Council: The council recently voted to spend $1.5
million on an audit of the Police Department to determine whether the
large number of police officers added to the force in recent years has
been deployed effect,ively.
• The Pollee Commission: This panel, a standing commission appointed
by the mayor, is reviewing whether Police Chief Daryl F. Gates should
· be disciplined as a result of the King incident and whether there is a
pattern of excessive force in LAPD arrests. · ·
• The District Attorney's Office: Investigators 'are examining police conduct
in the Foothill Division, where the King beating occurred.
• The U.S. JusUce Department: FBI ·agents are investigating the Foothill .
Division in connection with a Justice Department's civil rights investigation.
DAILY NEWS
and whether its statr should continue
to be made up of Police Del
partment employees. ..
The inquiry could cost up to $1
1 million. The funds would be
raised privately, and the $1 milt
lion estimate includes the value
: of in-kind services, such as don~
. ated time by attorneys, said Bill
Chandler, a spokesman fr the
mayor.
Christopher brin_gs to th~ com~.
mission experience as former
Qeputy Attorney General of the
United States, former Deputy
Secretary of State and former
vice chairman of the McCone
.Commission, which investigated
the Watts riots· in 1965.
.. We hope to make this the
most probing analysis of its kind
, ever conducted," Christopher
said Monday. "It will be an o~
jective, independent and nonpartisan
review."
Christopher said the panel,
which met for the first time Monday,
also will talk to police officers
about the department's
problems.
In addition to the Arguelles
and Christopher commissions,
the mayor-appointed Police
Commission and the City Council
also are examining police
operations in the wake of the
King beating. Bradley and Christopher
said they do not think the
new panel's review will conflict
with any of the other investigations,
saying the new panel is.
looking for long-term solutions. ·
Bradley, who has said that
Gates' retirement would help
start the healing process for the
community, repeatedly empha.,:
sized that the panel will be inde- .
pendent of his office.
He denied Monday that tne
panel's objectivity should be
questioned because of his appointment
of Kantor, who was
one of Bradley's attorneys during
a 1989 city attorney's investigation
into Bradley's personaLfi- .
nances.
"I think that has nothing to do
with the work of this commission,"
Bradley said. He saidKan.:
tor's reputation of integrity is
above reproach. · . ... ·