Webster Panel Says Race Bias Not Factor in LAPD Response

Last week, the American Civil Liberties of Southern California and a coalition of lawyers alleged that racial discrimination may have played a decisive role in the way riot-control resources were deployed last spring.

But as they begin their search for what one lawyer admitted is “hard-to-find” evidence in support of a possible lawsuit, one potential source of backing has come up short.

The report by the Webster Commission, which criticized the Los Angeles Police Department’s slow response to the riots, found no evidence that racial bias determined police deployment, said Richard J. Stone, general counsel and staff director for the commission.

“There were persistent rumors that what happened or didn’t happen was the result of some plot or plan or wrongful motive, and we found no evidence of that whatsoever,” he said. “What happened here had to do with systems failures. . . . This is not a case of malice. This is a case of failure to comprehend the depth of the problem.”