. . . But Not at Any Cost

Ihave more knowledge about the police than the average person in the street because I served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1973 to 1986. At one time, the Rampart Division was in my council district. Over the years, there have been one or two troubling incidents there. During the mid- to late ‘70s, an Asian task force was put together to serve the area’s large Filipino, Korean, Chinese and Japanese communities. There was some troubling incident that seemed to be contrary to police policies. When I look at what is currently happening, it is unfortunate that that kind of conduct has occurred or perhaps continues to occur.

The black community has always had opposing points of view about the police. There are many blacks and other minorities who appreciate the honest efforts that the police engage in to protect them and their community. Often they find themselves mired in areas with high crime rates or high density rates and many social problems.

But there is a concomitant part of that. As the police get more intimate with the community, there are some police officers whose ideas and biases have caused them to conclude that they need to do whatever is necessary to stop crime; you have to clamp down on the community. They feel that some of the bad guys will escape punishment through the justice system, so the police sometimes will feel justified planting weapons or illegal substances or other things of that nature because they really are getting a bad guy who deserves to be gotten.

So there are some policemen who become cowboys. They feel that it’s them against the world, and after a while, their judgment becomes faulty.

As a city councilman, I was quite concerned about the ability of the police to be respected, the ability of the police to be respectful of my community, the ability of them to avoid being judgmental. Every black woman walking down the street wearing culottes is not a prostitute. Every black man driving a car is not a getaway driver. But those attitudes persist. There are some incidents, more than others, that shaped the image of the police in the black community--the Eulia Love shooting, the karate chokings, the Rodney King beating, the recent killing of the homeless lady. Is the treatment changing?

The message is that if police continue with that kind of conduct, the spotlight is going to be placed on them. It is not going to be swept under the rug. Perhaps at last there may be some movement to break the code of silence. It is like any other paramilitary operation. In order to retain your authority, you have to show that you can do no wrong.

In the community, there is credence to the belief that some police frame residents and plant evidence. And that’s been happening for a long time.

I am a strong supporter of psychological resources for policemen. These services would weed out people with tendencies toward certain conduct before they joined the force. If the behavior festers when the person is already on the force, psychological services should be given.

One thing is certain: Los Angeles has one of the brightest, smartest chiefs in its history. From what I know about Bernard Parks, he would never condone police misbehavior; it’s just regrettable that it would happen on his watch.

--Interviewed by MARY REESE BOYKIN.