Local News in Brief : Bias by Police Alleged
Accusing Long Beach police of discrimination and corruption, the local chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People announced Wednesday that it has asked the Los Angeles County district attorney and the grand jury to investigate the department.
But at a press conference in Los Angeles, Long Beach NAACP chapter spokesman Frank Berry did not provide any specific examples of when officers allegedly harassed blacks and falsified reports to cover their actions. Berry said he wants to protect the confidentiality of 23 people who complained to the NAACP during the last five months of 1987.
Police Chief Lawrence Binkley called the NAACP announcement “political” and “dishonest.” Binkley, who held his own press conference Wednesday afternoon to rebut the accusations, noted that NAACP leaders timed their press conference to fall only a few days before the City Council is to consider a controversial proposal of NAACP leaders and others calling for creation of a police civilian review board.
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