Civil rights violations by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) have been much discussed recently because of the scandal at the Rampart Division in which a number of officers are charged with presenting false evidence and framing innocent citizens. The LAPD has behaved badly with respect to the civil rights of citizens numerous times over its history, and there have been many attempts over to correct these abuses. The department received a major black eye because of the Rodney King incident and its aftermath, and the Christopher Commission was convened to make suggestions as to how to change the culture of the police department to make it more responsive to the community. It would appear that whatever changes were made were insufficient, and the Rampart scandal is raising the same issues once more.
The scandal began in 1999 when an officer was charged with stealing and selling drugs from the Rampart property room, and he then revealed other wrongdoing:
Rafael Perez, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to stealing eight pounds of cocaine from a police evidence room, has told LAPD investigators that three years ago he and another officer shot a handcuffed gang member, Javier Francisco Ovando, at point blank range, and then planted a rifle designed to suggest that Mr. Ovando had assaulted the officers ("The LAPD: Over creative policing," 1999).
Perez cooperated with investigators in the hope of lenient treatment and described dozens of examples of police misconduct, stating that they were tolerated as part of an LAPD program called Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH). He also referred to widespread corruption blighting the department. Immediately, these allegations led to the firing of three officers, the suspension of twelve others, and an investigation of the management. The investigation also had an effect on how crime was fought in the region, leading to the suspension of two injunctions direc...