officers - The Black Vault

F~?_·p50 (rt.av. 5·8·81)
•
(Indicate page, name of
newspaper, city and state.)
(Mount Clipping in Space Below)
Law enforcement image tak~~
beating after arrest videotape
By Jennifer Lewis
STAFF WRITER
Another casualty of the videotaped
beating of a suspect by Los Angeles
police last week is the reputation of
law enforcement, Westside police officers
say.
"We tell them it wasn't Santa Mon-
ica who did it, _and they say, 'We
don't care. You police officers are all
the same,' " said Santa Monica police
Sgt. Bill Brucker, commenting on' the
angry calls his' department has received.
Date:
Edition:
THE OUTLOOK
TUES. MAR 12, 1991
Front Section, Page 1
Tille: LAW ENFORCEMENT IMAGE
TAKES BEATING AFTER ARRES~
VIDEOTAPE
CharaCter: CIVIL RIGHTS
or .
Classification: 80-3 3 B
Submitting Office:
IDS ANGELES
"The .larger issue_ i~ the dama~e lndexinm;_: -----=::::::-----,
SEARCHED INDEXED·---•
. those officers did to law enforcement
SERIAUZEO flLE0•----1
. across the nation," added Santa
Monica police Sgt. Russ Martin. "It's
right up there with the damage done
MAR 20 1991
when sherifrs investigators were indicted
on narcotics racketeering
charges. We all take the bad rap for
it."
The beating has dominated local
squad meetings and hallway conver- ·
sations. Reactions have ranged from
outrage to disappointment to embar-:
rassment.
Rodney King, 25, a· convicted robber,
was clubbed and kicked more
than 50 times by Foothill Division
officers March 3 in Lake Vi_ew Terrace.
"When I first saw it, I couldn't
believe it," recalled Santa Monica po-
: lice Officer La Verne Davis on Monday.
"!.thought, what did he do? Is right, says the incident .makes his
Beverly Hills police Lt. Frank Salcido,
he a murderer or what? But even if job harder and Officer La Verne Davis,
left, was shocked by the tape.
he were, there was still no justifica­
·tion for it.
"It feels good when someone goes· "People should have confidence in
to jail who deserves it, but you don't
~ .. the police," said Beverly Hills police
have to stomp them to get them · Lt. Frank Salcido. "An incident like
there," she said. .
' this makes our job so much more
Police also expressed concern that t difficult. Any time there's a scandal,
the beating is undermining the public's
trust in law enforcement. ·scars."
'. it takes a long time to heal those
· S!>me. office.rs cautioned agai~st
1
I .preJudgmg thell' peers. Santa ·Mom~
police Officer Mike Beautz said he
was disturbed by the quickness of his ·
"colleagues to condemn the LAPP of-
! fleers before an investigation was
completed.
'Hang out to dry'
"I'm a little amazed that a lot of
my fellow officers are willing to let
f.them hang out to dry," he said. "Ev­
~~erybody is willing to give the criminal
i the right to be considered innocent
r .
FBI/DOJ
I__ ________ _