officers - The Black Vault

1
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1 paign
1 Police
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0·350 (Rev. 5·8·81)
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(Indicate page, name of
newspaper, city and state.)
p. 1
filmed by a bystander early
day morning in Lake View Terrace,
'depicts at least a dozen officers
surrounding a black man
he left his car, kicking him
pounding more than 40,
with nightsticks as he lay
, ·the pavement. The tape was
1 shot from a nearby apartment 1
balcony.
.
FBI and the District Attorney's
Office are investigating 1
the beating of Rodney Glenn i
King, 25. Civil rights activists . 1 1
branded the beating part of a'
' pattern of police misconduct in.
the nation's largest city. , 1
The American Civil Liberties 1
, Union ;may file a suit against the ,
LAPD . or launch a public cam- 'I
demanding the ouster of
Chief Daryl F. Gates, said :
Director of Communications Lin~ I
da Burstyn. The ACLU averages !
1
Photo I Associated Press ab"out 75 CallS a day alleging
Title:
Character:
or
I Sulbmlt•tlna Office:
''ftr IJ.k ~~ ~-:h~ .h~ il'-- - --
Rodn K' d' LAPD misconduct, she added. s e w ep c dren .are:
. ey mg Jscusses ''Many of the phone calls have accus_e~ of domg ~omething'
beatmg I A4 to do with minority victims," ·~rong,, M_uravez said. "Some-!
Burstyn said. "There seems ·to ·times It s. di:~Iipult. for a pa~ent to
i,emotions,
I
rl·controversy
be a particular disregard for mi· ~ak~ a decision if the child denorities."
· · mes It. If th~ parents saw a pho-,
Spokesman from several San , to of ~he child _doin~ ~omething,
Gabriel Valley. law enforcement I would bell eve It. . .
agencies polled spoke favorably.·· Hq.t Glendora. pol~ce Chief,
of tP,e growing role of video cam- ~~Brad Pose¥ . said videotapes
era-s as a law enforcement~~ cc;>ul§ be m1smterpreted by the
watchdog. - ilvi;,wer. . . . .
"I have noticed where more ',, . 4\ny time an officer IS usmg
and more private citizens are 11 reas~mable force to effect an ar·
~~- .. )J rest may seem Unreasonable to
videotaJ?ing incidents involving the outside viewer," Posey said.
the pollee," said Baldwin Park _"If someone is violently resist­
Camcorder lauded as
t · 1 f I' 't' police Chief Carmine Lanza. He ing arrest, someone may come in'
00 Or po ICe, Cl tzens added, in defense of the law en- in the middle of a situation and·
Los Angeles
MP.R 1 4 1991
1 _.:;~==-=:::.===::J~=~
1 By Pamela Medve fortell!-ent comm~nity, ','The vast th~t could be. seen as the police
staff writer
)JlaJority of pollee officers· are· be~ng aggressive."
1 · · ·l}.onest and hard-working and,, Police also use camcorders in'
, Just as residents reacted with uphold the high s~andard that'_ worH;. Baldwin Park police
horror, local police and sheriff's la:w ~nforcement IS entrusted 1 offi~ers brmg along a video cam-'
I· departments were upset to see a w1th. · , era when they execute search'
: videotape that shows Los Ange- Clffipers legally are res!ricted y.rarr~nts to aid in their defense
les police officers repeatedly to usmg only force that 1s rea· if r~s1dents allege- that police left
1
beatmg a prone, apparently helP- II sonable and nece~~ary t? make th7,rr home a shambles.
lless man. The videotape original- I· an arrest, authonti~s sa1~. Any It r~ally has cut qown on 1
ly was aired on national televi-1 force beypp.d that pomt m1ght be complamts," Lanza said.
sion Monday night. ·li considered brutality. . . _Cov~a police tape deino:q.stra-
"It was upsetting to everyone , FJ?hough ~ll cof!1plamts of .bru· !Ions. m case they get unrUly to 1
... from every rookie officer to tal1ty are mvestigated, a video- Identify how exactly they got out'
the. chief of police," said Azusa : tapr can, strongly ~olster ~ com· of han~ and wh9 was responsi-~
pollee Captain Bob Garcia. "It 1 plamant s case, said Lt. M1cqael ble, sa1d .Sgt. Ric~ard Hastert.
was too bad it happened. It was 1\Mur.avez of the Walnut Sheriff's The Walnut Sheriffs Station
v_er.y: difficult to watch." 1 .Station. _ ,tapes large parties. i
· ~ · ~ -~ Video cameras also are used in'
police surveillance and 'certain •
investigations. ·
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