Panel to Review Injuries Caused by Officers

The Los Angeles Police Commission voted Tuesday to broaden its review of force-related incidents by requiring formal briefings whenever an officer seriously injures someone.

The panel’s action fulfills a recommendation in the 1991 Christopher Commission report, which proposed police reforms after the beating of Rodney G. King.

Under the new rule, the five-member commission will review any “serious injury resulting from an officer’s use of force.” The panel will determine whether the officer’s actions complied with LAPD policy.

Those reviews could include injuries from baton blows, stun guns, beanbag shotguns and bodily force, such as restraining arm twists, officials said.

The inquiries will be similar to reviews the commission conducts on officer-involved shootings, said Commissioner Dean Hansell, who drafted the proposal that was unanimously approved by his colleagues.

As of September, there had been 55 incidents in which a person was hospitalized because of an encounter with officers, Hansell said. In 1996, there were 65 such cases out of about 200,000 arrests, he said.

“The undertaking of this is not due to any dissatisfaction with anything that is taking place, but we are [doing the reviews] as part of our oversight responsibilities,” Hansell said.

In a related matter, the commission unanimously approved a timeline policy aimed at speeding up the review of officer-involved shootings.