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r-----------~(M:::o~un~t..::C:_:Ii!::!PP:::in~g~in:.:_S:::pa~c:..e.::B.::elo:..w~)~------------1 THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
Gates Wants 3 Officers ..
Prosecuted in Beating
.. Police: Chief calls
incident an aberration
caused by 'total human
failure.' Bradley also
·presses investigation.
By HECTOR TOBAR
and SHERYL STOLBERG
TIMES STAFF WRITERS
Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl
F. Gates, reacting to controv~rsy
.. that has prompted .calls for bis
dismissal, recommended felony ·.
prosecution Thursday .for .three ·
officers who participated in the
videotaped beating 6f a man. The
--chief also promised to discipline a
.sergeant and as many as 11 other
officers who watched. ·
·Gates called the violent incident
'Sunday morning an aberration and
he attributed it to a "total human
. failure." He singled out a sergeant·
who apparently jailed to stop offi­
~ers as they kicked 25-year-old
.Rodney G. King and beat him with
nightsticks. ·
The decision on whether t9 pursue
criminal prosecution rests with ·
.the Los Angeles County .clistrict
attorney. That decision could ·be
made today, officials said.
Mayor Tom Bradley appeared
·pleased with Gates' call for disciplinary
actions, but the mayor also
ordered the city's Police Commission-a
civilian oversight panel
whose members he appoints-to
·press forward with a comprehensive
look into possi)::>le deficiencies
in the department's training, supervision
or what the mayor
termed "otir command structure."
Bradley, emerging from a private
afternoon meeting with Gates
and the Police Commission, seemed
eager to calm a city unsettled by
repeatedly televised images of
white officers savagely pummeling
·a prone black man.
Gates and Bradley- have said the
-JOE KENNEDY I. -LosAngeles Times
Chief Gat~s at pre.ss oonf~rel\lce.
. ·.. ~ ~~, -.... ... :· ~tt
Date:
Edition: FRI • , l'.LAR 8 , 19 91
Front Section, Page 1
Title: GATES WANTS 3 OFFICERS
PROSECUTED IN BEATING
CIVIL RIGHTS
CharaCter:
or
Classification: 44A-LA-119954; 80-33
Submitting Office:
IDS ANGELES
lndeXJO~· !Q.;_: ~:------;:;;:;~;---...,
SEARCHED'--- INDEXED·----1
SERIALI~ED·--- flLED·----t
MAR 2 0 1991
FBI -
LOS ANGELES
incident, which occurred after a
traffic stop, did not appear to .have
raCial overtones.
"There is a ·need for all of .us,"
"l~radley said, "to recognize that the
.city draws its strength from its
diversity, and that we will not let
. an incident of this kind divide us or
cause a problem based on our
.neighborhoods or backgrounds."
Bradley said he would not attempt
to remove Gates, as some
c~vil rights groups have demanded.
But the mayor stopped short of
declaring support for the chief,
. saying that it is not up to him to
decide whether Gates should resign
or retire. .
The mayor said the city's reputation
has been tarnished and predicted
that it would take years for
Los Angeles and the Police Department
to recover. But, Bradley
said, Gates' actions were an impor- .
tant first step ..
· "We have stopped the blooct'
l • RELATED STORIES: Bl
from flpwing and now it is impor­
: . t;int to restore the vitality, the
1
health of the body· of the Police
: ·Department of this city," Bradley
· said.
I . Gates announced his recommen­
I dation for prosecution at a midday
'I news conference at Parker Center.
·The chief also revealed new details
•· about the attack on King, saying
that he had been struck 53 to 56
tfmes-significantly more than
earlier estimates-and had been
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