L.A. Police Misconduct

Re “LAPD Must Drop CRASH in Order to Regain Public Trust,” Commentary, Sept. 27: Though I make no excuses for the siege mentality of the Los Angeles Police Department and all of its subsequent abuses, Gregory J. Boyle’s column about the poor, put-upon gang members sparks a question. Boyle asked the gang members if they ever had a bad experience with the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums unit. I can’t help but wonder if Boyle has ever asked innocent victims of gang violence that same question about experiences with his homeboys?

ROBERT E. BRENNAN

Van Nuys

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I write to express my dismay over an overly broad, unjustified and wholly inappropriate comment in an otherwise thoughtful commentary by law professor Erwin Chemerinsky (Sept. 24).

After clearly setting out the case for independent oversight and supervision of the Los Angeles Police Department, Chemerinsky makes the incredible statement that every Los Angeles resident now has reason to fear the police.

Clearly there has been serious wrongdoing among some of our city’s police. But even if the probe of criminal activity among officers ultimately casts a wider net, it is inconceivable that anything approaching wholesale corruption or large-scale patterns of brutality in the department could result.

There are simply too many indicators in place that the Los Angeles Police Department is a fundamentally sound department to accept the notion that all of us now have reason to fear every officer. The widespread implementation of Christopher Commission reforms, the development and successful operation of Community-Police Advisory Boards and expanded neighborhood watch organizations and the strong public support that citizens continue to show for the police suggest strongly that the department has made major strides forward in recent years and is, overall, on the right track.

CINDY MISCIKOWSKI

Los Angeles City Council

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The code of silence among police officers discussed in Joseph McNamara’s Sept. 21 commentary shows the extent to which crimes are committed by cops. The idea that only few cops are criminals is only half the story. Those cops who do not expose any criminal acts by other cops are also accomplices to the crimes. With the code of silence, no wonder it is difficult to trust the police force.

CARL (YUANG-FENG) LO

Arcadia

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As a big supporter of the LAPD and its personnel, I feel that now is the time for more active civilian oversight. Let’s face it. The words on the doors, “To Protect and Serve,” mean everything to the officers who have given their lives for all who live in this city. Aside from the gun, handcuffs, badge and baton, all a police officer really is armed with is his word. If it means that a few civilians will be hanging around Parker Center and other stations to ensure that a police officer’s word still carries the weight it should and restores our faith, I believe it’s worth it.

BRUNO LOPEZ

Pasadena