LAPD Bureaucracy Dodges a Bullet

Re “LAPD’s Rotten Apples Remain,” Commentary, Nov. 11: It was sad to realize that Erwin Chemerinsky’s excellent commentary on Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley’s announcement of the end to the Rampart Division investigation was probably the epitaph for police reform in Los Angeles. More than anyone else, Chemerinsky knew the importance of capitalizing on the Rampart crisis in order to bring about meaningful institutional change. His tireless efforts and those of many others to bring about a new era of oversight and openness to the LAPD should be applauded.

The LAPD brass, of course, knew what other large organizations know--that delay is its best weapon in the fight against change. The more time passed since the events of Rampart, the more political pressure was released for reform. Ironically, the coup de grace for police reform was delivered not by any of the Rampart protagonists but by a group of knife-wielding terrorists. In the wake of Sept. 11, in which the public is now inclined to view all law enforcement personnel as heroes, who can blame a politician like Cooley for throwing in the towel?

Tom Hogen-Esch

Los Angeles