Police Complaints
Your article “Victims of Police Misconduct Offered a Place to Turn” (Metro, Aug. 25) accurately described the police-brutality problem in the Los Angeles community.
The East Los Angeles Latino Community Justice Center recently began a police-abuse clinic in conjunction with the Police Misconduct Lawyer Referral Service. Latino residents physically brutalized by local police have been giving detailed accounts of their ordeals during these weekly clinics. A great majority of the cases are unrelated to gang sweeps or any type of gang activity.
The frequency and severity of police brutality surprised Justice Center workers. One victim walked in to file a complaint just a few hours after being beaten, his face was still swollen and his wrists were still red from police handcuffs.
Police brutality is a pervasive problem in the Latino community that too often goes unaddressed and unchallenged. The Justice Center’s police-abuse program’s goal is to reduce incidents of police abuse by documenting and reporting residents’ complaints.
JESUS DE LA RIVA
East Los Angeles Latino
Community Justice Center
East Los Angeles
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