Rampart Feud

Both LAPD Chief Bernard Parks and Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti should be held accountable for the Rampart scandal. The public can decide whether Garcetti is fit to serve as district attorney in the next election. Parks insists on absolute authority over the LAPD but refuses to accept any responsibility.

How do we, the public, hold the chief accountable? It’s obvious that we cannot depend on our mayor. The least we should accept is a federally appointed overseer who has absolute authority over the LAPD, including the power to remove the chief.

JOHN BOYDSTUN

Woodland Hills

*

The allegations of beating, framing, false arrest, perjury and perhaps even police homicide are the most heinous crimes that could be committed by a public agency in a democracy. The review of recently exposed corruption within the Police Department by local authorities has reached absurdity. Last week’s cat fight between the chief of police and the district attorney is making Los Angeles a national laughingstock.

Regardless of culpability, the Police Department, the district attorney and the Police Commission cannot now command the credibility necessary to complete a review that will lift the umbrella of suspicion from our police. An immediate, authoritative inquiry is necessary so the pall of suspicion can be lifted from the thousands of honorable and hard-working officers and civilian staff of the LAPD.

JAMES MacCURDY

Los Angeles

*

Why is everybody jumping on the “acting like children” bandwagon? These two are not acting like children. Children don’t know any better. These two are acting like cheap barroom brawlers with a Jerry Springer mind-set.

We are in law-enforcement crisis. Where is our civic leadership?

ANN SHERMAN JAMES

Los Angeles

*

Surely, if the D.A.’s office didn’t notice a certain inconsistency in any of the officers’ reports and testimony, they must have noticed the consistency in the victims’ statements. The cops put the stories together, but the D.A. files the papers and prosecutes people who are arrested. The D.A.’s office hasn’t adequately been challenged for its part in this abominable misuse of power. I urge the proper authorities to take a look from Chief Parks’ point of view. Perhaps he sees something no one else could.

LISA BIDDLE

Santa Barbara

*

Perhaps now we can begin to understand why former Chief Willie Williams demoted Parks for insubordination.

PAT TOBIN

Granada Hills

*

Charles Lindner (Opinion, March 19) claims deputy district attorneys are either “inexperienced or inept,” that “cops lie all the time,” that “fair trials” are infrequent and that all judges are “de facto” prosecutors. The most ridiculous statement is the claim that “defense lawyers and their imprisoned clients” have the greatest stake in the truth.

While authoring such claptrap, Lindner professes to wonder why no deputy district attorneys will have lunch with him and his like-minded defense attorneys.

There are tens of thousands of people victimized each year in Los Angeles by crimes. However, these crimes are not committed by police officers but by the very people Lindner has devoted his life to representing.

DOUGLAS ROSE

San Diego