Long Beach Probing Action of 6 Officers

Long Beach police administrators said they are investigating six officers in connection with possible misconduct ranging from racial remarks to excessive force.

The six were among 15 officers selected for investigation by Police Chief Lawrence L. Binkley after an incident in January in which Officer Mark Dickey appeared to push activist Don Jackson into a plate glass storefront window.

Binkley said he is seeking to identify officers who have demonstrated a pattern of using excessive force so they can be retrained. “Like in any business, there are some people who get into more altercations than others,” Binkley said.

An in-house task force reviewed about 10,000 arrests and identified 13 cases handled by six officers that involved questionable force or verbal abuse, Cmdr. Billy Thomas said.

Neither Binkley nor Thomas would identify the officers or give details of the incidents. The officers’ union called the investigation a “political witch hunt” aimed at officers who have been active in the union or have challenged Binkley’s authority.