A Scandal’s Proper Revival

The Rampart police corruption investigation has arisen from a premature death. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley reversed course after closing the book last month on the unfinished probe. His office will look at 60 additional cops referred by the Los Angeles Police Department, and criminal charges may be forthcoming.

Rafael Perez, the rogue cop who broke the scandal to lighten his sentence for stealing cocaine from LAPD evidence lockers, heads back behind bars, this time in a federal prison.

The feds aren’t through scrutinizing cops who, like Perez, abused the authority of their badge. “We haven’t given the Police Department a clean bill of health,” FBI spokesman Matthew McLaughlin told reporters. “This investigation continues.” As it should.

The more outside attention on the LAPD, the better. The independent monitor appointed by a federal judge as part of the city’s consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice recommended last month that the Police Department reduce the large backlog of misconduct complaints against officers in order to pursue needed reforms. The consent decree resulted from allegations that LAPD officers had engaged for years in a “pattern or practice” of misconduct.

The 1991 Christopher Commission report, the bible of L.A. police reform, issued similar findings. That commission, set up after police officers were caught on videotape beating Rodney G. King, recognized the need for independent review of the LAPD and called for an inspector general. What’s the point of having an inspector general if the LAPD undermines him and the Police Commission won’t listen?

Inspector General Jeffrey C. Eglash raised questions about the police shootings of Margaret Laverne Mitchell, a mentally ill homeless woman who was slain; Anthony Dwain Lee, killed during a Halloween party, and Steven Short, wounded by an officer who suspected him of hiding a young man who had thrown a half-empty can of beer at the car of an off-duty cop. The Police Commission sided with the department in the three instances, as it does in most cases.

Perez thought he was done when he finished his state time, a measly three years. The Rampart scandal grew out of his naming of 70 officers who he said framed, beat or shot innocent suspects. Only eight have been criminally charged, and Dist. Atty. Cooley was ready to close the book until he learned last week that the LAPD will submit as many as 60 new Rampart-related cases. What took the Police Department so long?

Since Perez started talking, more than 100 convictions have been overturned and the city has paid out millions of dollars in settlements to those wrongly arrested or jailed due to tainted police evidence or testimony. As much as the Police Department wants the Rampart matter to just go away, it must be held accountable for the scandal’s consequences.