Police Fear Fuhrman Tape Fallout : Law enforcement: Officials countywide say bias is not tolerated, but revelations may sow distrust in the community.

Expressing shock and disgust at the racist boasts of Mark Fuhrman, Ventura County law enforcement officials Wednesday said the Fuhrman tapes could tarnish the badges of all police officers and breed distrust among the people they serve.

Police chiefs, prosecutors and investigators stressed that racially motivated beatings and other forms of blatant racism described by Fuhrman do not occur in Ventura County because they are not tolerated in the law enforcement community.

But they also emphasized that the snippets of hate and intolerance voiced by the former Los Angeles Police Department detective that are now saturating the media can tear down bridges of trust between police and communities.

“It is a huge setback,” said Oxnard Police Chief Harold Hurtt. “We have such an awesome public responsibility and trust, we should be role models. We are going to have to work twice as hard as before.”

Cmdr. Kathy Kemp, head of the sheriff’s station in Thousand Oaks, said the episode is demoralizing to deputies working the streets.

“It’s a black eye for law enforcement,” she said. “The 99% of officers out there doing a good job are going to have those Fuhrman tapes thrown in their faces. You work so hard to establish the most positive working relationship with a community, and one tape like that can destroy years of work.”

Most veteran officers said the Fuhrman tapes being played in the O. J. Simpson murder trial will impose a lingering stigma that will be difficult for police agencies to shake.

“It’s like the Rodney King beating,” said Santa Paula Police Chief Walt Adair. “Everyone is sickened by this whole thing. I’ve been a police officer for 31 years, and that’s what I’ve got to carry around with me.”

Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury said he shares the revulsion for Fuhrman’s recital of racism and wrath. “It was a horrendous, despicable revelation that will to some degree reflect poorly on all of us in law enforcement.”

Racism and racial bias are always concerns in law enforcement, Bradbury said. But the county, he added, has never had more than a few isolated incidents, none of which even approach reflecting the attitudes espoused by Fuhrman.

Law enforcement leaders have consciously set a disapproving tone to prevent racial bias from taking root in Ventura County, Bradbury said.

“If there is any tolerance for that kind of conduct, it can become a breeding ground for more misconduct,” he said. “You don’t find that in this county.”

The Ventura County office of the FBI has received occasional complaints of local officers violating residents’ civil rights, said Gary Auer, the special agent in charge.

But none has warranted prosecution since Auer arrived in 1986. “Virtually all of them on their face reflect disagreements with routine police procedures,” he said.

John R. Hatcher III, president of the county’s NAACP chapter, said he has received complaints over the years about racially inspired harassment by police.

He said he has never had the definitive evidence to finger an officer, nor does he condemn any specific police agency. But he takes issue with the notion that racial bias occurs in only isolated incidents.

“They may call it isolated, but I am aware that the Sheriff’s Department and the police departments have some Mark Fuhrmans in this area,” Hatcher said. “I would appreciate it if they would rid their organizations of that kind of people.”

Hurtt agrees that police agencies have a responsibility to cleanse their ranks of individuals responsible for improper behavior. Agencies try to screen out applicants who are unfit to wear uniforms with extensive background checks and other tools.

But he said that Fuhrman’s comments reflect a failing of society at large to rid itself of racism--a disease than can infect members of any profession.

“As long as we are hiring human beings, we are going to have people who are faulty in attitude and behavior,” he said. “There is no system you can have in place to make sure that all of your employees are pure of heart and mind.”

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, which polices five of the county’s 10 cities, has broadcast the message within the department that it will not put up with racial bias or insensitivity, said Sgt. Dave Williams, head of the deputies’ union.

“There isn’t even any locker-room talk,” he said.

Kemp agrees that the Sheriff’s Department has taken a tough stand.

“When I first came on the department 17 or 18 years ago, insensitive comments might have been laughed off and dismissed as, ‘That’s just the way it is.’ Well, that’s not the way it is anymore.”

Lt. Richard Diaz, manager of the sheriff’s Fillmore station, said the department has had problem individuals from time to time, but anyone who steps out of line runs up against Sheriff Larry Carpenter.

“He does take punitive action in any instance that pops up,” Diaz said. “It doesn’t matter who you are. He doesn’t tolerate it.”

Simi Valley Councilman Paul Miller said he never saw anyone like Fuhrman in the Simi Valley Police Department during his 12 years as chief. “If there was anyone with that attitude, it was kept hidden,” he said.

Miller and other officials say they have worked hard to maintain a positive image in all reaches of their communities.

“Fuhrman does not speak for the vast majority of skilled and trained law enforcement officers,” he said. “I would hope that people are able to see that.”

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