Miscikowski Urges More Police Training

In her dual roles on Los Angeles City Council panels dealing with police issues, Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski sees what she believes is a disturbing pattern: The Police Department consistently appears to require training for officers after they are accused of using excessive force, she says.

To Miscikowski--who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee and sits on the budget and finance panel--this practice appears extremely reactive. Shouldn’t officers receive ongoing training, she asks, like lawyers or doctors throughout their careers, rather than only after they have shot or hurt someone? Wouldn’t periodic training also help reduce payouts in lawsuit settlements filed by citizens hurt by police? And why, she wonders, do officers receive additional training after their shootings are found to be within department policy?

Examples such as these abound: In the case of Margaret Mitchell, the homeless woman shot and killed by a bicycle officer last summer, an internal LAPD report found that the shooting was within department policy, but that the officer’s tactics were poor; the council last week approved a $3.7-million settlement in a false arrest case in which the “suspect” said he was set up by police detectives and held for seven months before being acquitted of drug charges; and, on Wednesday, the council approved a $500,000 settlement in a case involving a man who died, hogtied, while in LAPD custody.

As a result of these and other cases, Miscikowski is asking Police Chief Bernard C. Parks and other department officials to brief the Public Safety Committee on how the LAPD can improve its training programs.

“Most other professions have, by way of legislative mandate, ongoing professional training,” Miscikowski said Wednesday. “We need to make sure everyone is getting the most updated training we can.”

Further, Miscikowski said she can’t tell whether it is policy or coincidence that officers named in lawsuits typically are required to undergo additional training. And, she said the department also appears to take seriously suggestions by council members about upgrading training but that too seems too reactive.

“A lot of this seems to be prompted by the council,” Miscikowski said, referring to suggestions that council members have made to the department about learning from past mistakes in training courses. “It’s time to set something up that’s much more positive and proactive.”

LAPD officials say that officers do take refresher training courses throughout their careers, as mandated by the state, and that the department’s efforts are considered exemplary. After the North Hollywood bank robbery shootout, the department compiled a training film and training program that has been shown to many law enforcement agencies at their request. And, the department has a schedule of training programs conducted during police station roll calls for patrol officers.

Some say the department’s training programs are not the problem. When officers are involved in excessive force cases, their tactics are scrutinized and action is taken, if they are found to be lacking.

Mostly, however, Miscikowski said ongoing, updated refresher courses could help reduce the costly lawsuit settlements that the council approves. Just last week, lawmakers approved the multimillion-dollar settlement in the case of a wrestling coach who was accused of selling heroin but was acquitted on all charges. He was held for seven months and allegedly lost his chance to become a member of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team. On Wednesday, the council’s budget and finance committee agreed to offer a businessman more than $50,000 to settle a lawsuit based on his false arrest and ransacked pager and cellular phone company. The officer involved in that case, Brian Hewitt, has since been fired by the department for other reasons and has been implicated in the unfolding Rampart corruption scandal.

Miscikowski says those cases, and many others, led her to question the efficacy of the department’s training and whether programs need to be updated to more closely follow department policies. And, the department should look outside to determine whether other law enforcement agencies conduct training that should be replicated here.