Was Police Investigation an Empty Ritual, or Will It Bring Change? : The Times asked a diverse group of people, most of them Los Angeles residents, to comment on the report of the Christopher Commission. The following commentaries are taken from the interviews. : But We Need Them

The man (Police Chief Daryl Gates) should get out. You’re supposed to be responsible for your workers, which is why they put you in that position.

The LAPD--sometimes I look at them and they seem so squeaky clean with this yahoo kind of attitude. But then what would you do without them? It’s a double-edged sword, because their job is extremely difficult. It’s got to be very frustrating to want to be able to do your job, but at the same time the system (makes it difficult). This isn’t just a problem with the Rodney King beating, this a problem with the entire judicial system in this country. The police are frustrated with what they can’t do, with what they can’t accomplish. What’s the point of putting a crack dealer in jail when the next hour, he’s out? But then there’s a lot of racism. How does a psychologist, when he’s looking at a possible officer, screen someone to know that they’re a racist? Honey, there are racists all the way up, too. So everybody’s getting on the LAPD, but I’ve got a real double-edged sword about it: You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them.