Police Misconduct

“An Old Rap Sheet” (editorial, May 6), criticizing the timing of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission report concerning police abuse in L.A. County, is unwarranted. Yes, the commission took a long time in issuing a report that recommends the same changes many of us have been seeking for years. If The Times questions the need for a “special prosecutor,” perhaps it should use its own resources to investigate why so few police officers and deputies are prosecuted in L.A. County, compared to the number of civil rights police misconduct cases won each year.

Deputy gangs? The Times has only recently allowed its reporters to do in-depth reporting on this outrageous situation. Police review boards with some teeth? How many agencies, organizations and demonstrations over the years have cried out for this type of accountability? It may have taken a long time for this report to surface, but the writing has been on the wall for years. To date, no real changes have been made concerning police misconduct in this county and the only government body that has had the will to bring it to light is the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.

DAVID LYNN

Los Angeles