Police Tame Gang Raids to Be Good Neighbors

The gang raid, that heavy show of force that has become a calling card in law enforcement’s crackdown on gang activity, is undergoing a transformation.

Call it the kinder, gentler raid.

With “community policing” practices gaining wide acceptance, more police agencies are attempting to tame what critics have long decried as paramilitary exercises that leave residents feeling doubly victimized: by the gangs and then by police.

The softer approach to an operation that often involves hundreds of swarming officers and a host of exotic equipment has several aims. Police hope it improves community relations while reducing the likelihood of costly lawsuits by angry residents.

In Los Angeles, where police a decade ago used a tank-like “battering ram” to apprehend gang suspects, police now try to bond with residents during raids and send liaisons into neighborhoods after the fact to debrief the community and seek comments. Police made the change after several notorious raids including one that resulted in a $4-million settlement to residents who sued the city.

The trend comes at a time of increased scrutiny of heavy-handed police tactics, as exemplified by the case of an unarmed African immigrant shot 41 times by New York police. While some community activists hail the friendlier gang tactics as a step in the right direction, others remain skeptical, saying they simply put a happy face on questionable practices.

A huge gang sweep in Orange County in January offers a glimpse into the struggle police face in trying to build trust in high-crime areas while maintaining an aggressive “in your face” stance against young criminals.

The raid, one of the largest in county history, involved about 200 police officers from more than a dozen agencies who searched for reputed gang members allegedly involved in a New Year’s Eve murder in Placentia.

A claim filed by some residents charged that most of the police departments involved abused their authority while serving the search warrants. The claim, which seeks $200 million in damages, alleged officers needlessly broke down doors, handcuffed innocent residents and pointed weapons at them.

But one department absent from the claim is the Garden Grove police, whose officers treated residents with a level of respect and courtesy most of the other departments lacked, according to the plaintiffs’ attorney.

“They knocked on the door, explained to residents what was happening, and the raid went much more smoothly,” said attorney Richard L. Keller, who is representing residents from 18 of the homes raided.

Garden Grove Police Capt. Dave Abrecht said his department has attempted to be more sensitive in its dealings with gang cases in the last few years and that the efforts are showing results.

“We have to be aggressive, but we also have to take the time to explain [ourselves],” he said, noting that the department was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union three years ago for taking pictures of Asian youths and placing them in a gang portfolio. The city settled the case and agreed to review its policies.

“I think officers understand that only a few minutes of explanation can alleviate some of the complaints that come down the road,” Abrecht said.

An even more dramatic example of the effort was on display last December in South Los Angeles, when 40 homes were raided by more than 100 police officers with guns, batons, bulletproof vests and something unexpected: apologies.

The officers gently explained to angry, tired residents that the raid had to take place at dawn because that’s when the suspected gang members were most likely to be home. At one house, women and children were offered a heated patrol car to escape the early morning chill while officers searched their dwelling. In another home, a woman who at first berated officers and threatened to call her lawyer later joked with them.

Later in the day, the department sent liaison officers into the neighborhood to answer questions and gain feedback from community leaders.

Cultural Shift in Police Agencies

The changes have come about gradually over the last decade since the infamous “Dalton” drug raid, in which officers trashed units in two South-Central Los Angeles apartment buildings. The city eventually settled a string of lawsuits for $4 million.

Some community activists said the new approach is making a difference in neighborhoods where distrust of police remains high.

“Something would happen, and in the past, police would say, ‘Get back in the house. It is none of your business,’ ” said Edythe Bassett, 66, a 26-year resident of South-Central Los Angeles and a retired medical technician.

“They don’t do that anymore,” added Bassett. “They explain the yellow tapes, what is going on.”

Departments from Oregon to Ohio have tried similar strategies, which experts said reflects a larger cultural shift taking place in police agencies across the nation.

“Cracking down is only the first step, but it can’t be the only step,” said Malcolm Klein, a USC sociology professor and author of “The American Street Gang.” “This is their community after all. They ought to be taken into account and listened to.”

Added Bill Hyatt, a professor of criminal justice at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C.: “In the past, police have felt that people were just in their way and that they should just stand aside and applaud their work.”

Columbus Police Cmdr. Kent Shafer, whose department has also experimented with the approach, said he recently attended a conference of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, where the subject was a hot topic.

Portland police roam the neighborhood after a gang raid to explain the tactic to residents, said Cmdr. Greg Clark. Since adopting the practice, complaints of police abuse have decreased dramatically, he said.

Officers involved in the Placentia raid said they attempt to be sensitive to residents’ concerns but believe it’s not always possible. In some communities, the gang culture is so entrenched that no amount of courtesy will win allies, they said.

“The average gang member’s family knows their kids are in a gang,” said Sgt. Dave Cherman of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, one of the agencies in the claim. “They are not helping them commit crimes, but they are turning their heads. [In some communities] we run into families that are second-, third- generation gang members.”

Cherman and others said it’s unfair to compare the behavior of each department involved in the raid because each faced different situations with varying levels of danger.

“The bottom line is quite simple: Police are not issued extra lives,” Cherman added. “It is easy for someone from the outside to say, ‘Why this much force’ . . . but I don’t want my officers shot. That’s why when we do these raids we don’t go really politely.”

Some critics, however, believe a more friendly approach to gang raids only masks a type of operation that is far too intrusive. They point out that while some raids yield suspects, others produce no results.

In one highly publicized 1995 case, nearly 800 officers conducted raids in South-Central Los Angeles homes. Authorities arrested 63 people, but only one was charged with a violent felony weeks later, prompting community outrage. In January, 200 Orange County officers raided several homes but failed to catch a Fullerton murder suspect.

“It seems like a lot of disturbance for very little outcome,” said Daniel C. Tsang, an Orange County community activist and police watchdog.

Police arrested more than a dozen suspects during the Placentia raid. But some residents allege that officers used excessive force to restrain non-suspects, and threatened those who questioned their tactics.

“I understand they have to do their job, but there is a right way and there is a wrong way,” said Richard Moreno, who along with other residents is seeking more than $200 million in damages from agencies that participated in the operation.

Placentia police spokeswoman Matt Reynolds declined to comment on the allegations because they are part of pending legal action. But he said the massive show of force was needed to ensure officer safety.

“You’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it,” Reynolds said.

At the same time, he said it makes sense for the police to explain their actions to community members as a way of avoiding complaints and improving relations.

“Unfortunately in our case, it would be a matter of resources,” he said. “That is something in the future we would look into. It is probably not a bad idea.”