Justice Dept. to Review Fuhrman Case in Its Probe of LAPD

With details of the Los Angeles Police Department’s investigation into former Det. Mark Fuhrman becoming public for the first time this week, officials in the U.S. Justice Department said Friday that they are eager to receive copies of the department’s inquiry.

“We will await it being sent our way,” one official said, adding that he did not think any subpoena would be necessary. “Our relationship with the LAPD has been really good.”

Raymond C. Fisher, president of the city’s Police Commission, echoed those comments, saying that local officials were continuing to cooperate with the federal government’s investigation into the practices of the LAPD. Any material that the Justice Department requests, including documents from the Fuhrman investigation, will be shared with federal authorities, Fisher said.

Using a new power granted to the federal government, Justice Department authorities are reviewing the LAPD to determine whether it has a “pattern or practice” of abuses that would warrant federal intervention. Few observers consider it likely that the Justice Department will bring a case against Los Angeles, but local officials are taking Washington’s interest seriously and have submitted to a number of interviews.

There still is no official word on how long the federal inquiry will last.