Rights Study Cites Serious Police Abuse in L.A. : Law enforcement: Amnesty International finds an ‘unchecked’ pattern of excessive force by officers.

Amnesty International issued on Friday its harshest indictment ever of alleged police brutality in the United States, accusing Los Angeles police and the county Sheriff’s Department of violating international human rights standards through a pattern of “unchecked” excessive force.

The worldwide human rights group found “a serious problem of excessive force” by officers in both departments and alleged in some instances it “has even amounted to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” prohibited by United Nations declarations and other international principles, according to a 65-page report released at its national meeting in Los Angeles.

To back up these claims of torture and other cruel treatment, the report refers to alleged incidents where officers or deputies struck people on the head with metal flashlights and lead-filled straps, police dogs attacked suspects who had surrendered or posed no threat, and officers unnecessarily fired Taser guns at suspects not resisting arrest.

The report suggests that African-Americans and Latinos bear the brunt of police excesses in the Los Angeles area and maintains that most of the offenses are committed by whites. It also criticizes the virtual lack of prosecutions by state and federal authorities of offending officers and deputies.

The report, “Police Brutality in Los Angeles,” is based in most part on what Amnesty International officials described as a review of 60 lawsuits against the departments where civil damages were paid to alleged victims of police abuse.

A three-member team of investigators also conducted a weeklong fact-finding mission to Los Angeles last September, which involved about 20 meetings with politicians, police, prosecutors, attorneys for alleged victims and civil rights groups. Investigators also reviewed documents provided by the Christopher Commission and a variety of newspaper articles on incidents of alleged abuse.

“It is, frankly, an appalling record,” said Ian Martin, secretary general of the London-based organization, who personally released the report to underscore how grave the group regards its findings.

The report’s introduction, nonetheless, includes an acknowledgment that the study “is not an exhaustive one” and a recognition that it is difficult to assess the extent of excessive force among officers and deputies. It relies in large part on anecdotal evidence, examining dozens of incidents, ranging from the widely publicized LAPD raid on apartments in a black neighborhood on Dalton Avenue to a series of fatal shootings last summer by sheriff’s deputies.

The unprecedented scrutiny of regional law enforcement in the United States by the well-known human rights group--best known in this country for its probes on political repression and torture in Third World dictatorships--brought a sharp rebuke from both Sheriff Sherman Block and outgoing Police Chief Daryl F. Gates. Police Chief-designate Willie L. Williams declined comment, saying he had not reviewed the report.

Block issued a statement dismissing the group’s findings as having “little or no significance” and accused the group of relying on media reports and biased information from attorneys who specialize in suing police. He also accused the organization of hyping its investigation to attract new members and donations.

“Maybe I should have contributed,” Block said.

Gates, speaking to reporters outside the Parker Center press office, characterized members of the human rights group as “a bunch of knucklehead liberals” who “attack everything that is good in the country . . . and good in the world.”

“Their attack on the LAPD and the Sheriff’s Department is untoward, unnecessary,” he said.

But leaders in the African-American and Latino communities praised the report as international confirmation of what they regard as a long pattern of abuse against minorities by local law-enforcement agencies. John Mack, president of the Los Angeles Urban League, accused Block and Gates of “burying their heads in the sand” by flippantly rejecting the findings.

“I would expect a highly defensive and nonsensical response from both of them,” Mack said. “This report puts in another international arena the shame and disgrace that Los Angeles had visited upon it by officers who are guilty of brutality and racism.”

Vibiana Andrade, general counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the report is yet another “sobering reminder” of the problems in the Police and Sheriff’s departments. She suggested it was “the best gift possible” for Williams, who was sworn in as police chief during a private ceremony Friday.

“I would wrap this up with a red ribbon and hand it to him and say, ‘This is our challenge,’ ” said Andrade, who was among those interviewed during Amnesty International’s fact-finding mission to Los Angeles last September.

Martin defended the thoroughness and accuracy of the report and rejected claims by Gates and Block that the probe somehow was stacked against the two departments. He said the investigation was conceived months before the police beating of Rodney G. King in March, 1991, based on a series of complaints the group had received about the two departments.

“We had close discussions with both departments and listened carefully to them,” Martin said. “We have done very careful research. The report reflects we looked closely at both sides of the case.”

The incidents examined fall into three main categories: brutality, officer-involved shootings and the use of police dogs. The report includes a discussion of the King beating, but only as background for the other cases.

“Although the police have said that civil actions do not necessarily prove police misconduct, Amnesty International has found a disturbing number of cases where police officers and sheriff’s deputies have used unjustified force,” the report states.

Among the reports recommendations:

* Leaders in the LAPD and Sheriff’s Department “should make it clear” that cruel and degrading treatment will not be tolerated and that their own guidelines on use of force as well as international standards must be followed.

* The two departments should undertake strong disciplinary actions and criminal prosecutions, when appropriate, for “the abusive use of force and firearms.”

* In keeping with the Christopher Commission recommendations, the two departments should establish independent civilian oversight of the complaints process. In general, Christopher Commission findings--intended for the LAPD--should also be applied to the Sheriff’s Department.

* The Sheriff’s Department should revise its guidelines on the use of firearms to comply with international standards requiring that firearms be used only in “appropriate circumstances and in a manner likely to decrease the risk of unnecessary harm.”

* Canine units of both departments should be investigated “to ensure that use of police dogs does not amount to unwarranted excessive force.”

* The federal government should be more aggressive in monitoring complaints of excessive force.

Martin, who used his speech Friday to also attack the U.S. human rights record on Haitian refugees and capital punishment, said the police brutality report has been delivered to political and community leaders throughout Los Angeles, as well as to President Bush and other federal officials.

“The continuing phenomenon of police brutality that often appears to target minorities in this city and elsewhere in the U.S.A. is a human rights scandal,” he said.