Civil Rights Violations and the LAPD
Civil rights violations by the Los
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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
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ing cases out of court. In January 2000, a judge overturned the convictions of ten people allegedly framed by officers from the Rampart Division, bringing the number of cases thrown out to that time to 23 (Glover and Lait, 2000).
One court case in particular raises troubling questions about the police culture in Los Angeles. In December 2000, the case was dismissed after a five-year ordeal by defendant Carlos Oliva. He is a paralyzed 24 year old 18th Street gang member, and the drug case against him was dismissed because the evidence and records suggest the charge was fabricated. Oliva's story differs from the other Rampart stories of corruption because he complained about being beaten by officers back in 1995. The issue went to the department's internal affairs unit, which was then supervised by Bernie Parks, now the police chief, and investigators did find widespread misconduct. However, little was done as a result of these findings (Goldsmith, 2000).
By May 2000, the Rampart investigation had led courts to overturn more than 80 convictions and to the resignations, firings, or suspensions of some 30 officers. Criminal charges were also filed against three officers (Sniffen, 2000). The most recent Rampart case ended
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Approximate Word count = 2091
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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