LOS ANGELES : LAPD Captain Apologizes for Remarks on Shootings

To quell resentment in the ranks, the commander of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division took the unusual step of apologizing to patrol officers this week after saying that he would rather see an officer suffer a minor injury than be charged with shooting a suspect unnecessarily.

Capt. Tim McBride said Friday that he told Foothill Division officers at six special meetings this week--described by participants as uniquely frank opportunities for officers to criticize their superiors--that he did not mean his remarks the way that they were interpreted.

“I provided a clarification and an apology,” McBride said. “It’s apparent that I allowed myself to be misinterpreted. . . . It was clear that I wasn’t understood. Frankly, the way I said it lent itself to misinterpretation.”

McBride said his original comments were part of a larger discussion on the appropriate use of force at a roll call Nov. 10. The division’s officers were criticized for their tactics after the videotaped beating of Rodney G. King.