Bratton Defends Officer in 2nd Incident

Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton said Thursday that a videotape showing a police officer using a flashlight to hit a suspect during a June 19 incident was “brutal” but that the officer’s actions appear to be within protocol.

Bratton addressed the issue a day after KTTV-TV Channel 11 broadcast the home video of the incident, which occurred four days before an LAPD officer was videotaped striking car-theft suspect Stanley Miller 11 times with a flashlight. The latest video shows Curtis Gibson, 37, being struck three times in the legs with a flashlight by police during the struggle to arrest him at a South Los Angeles apartment complex.

Bratton stressed that the actions depicted on this tape are far different from those depicted in the beating of Miller. The Miller beating, broadcast live on television, has stirred community outrage, and Bratton himself has described the police tactics as “a mess.”

Bratton said Thursday that this case was different because Gibson threw a bottle at an officer and injured him. During the scuffle to take him into custody, Gibson also reached for an officer’s gun.

Bratton described the struggle involving Gibson as “graphic,” “violent” and “confusing.”

“I wish that everyone would just give up when we arrest them,” he said, “but the truth is that policing is not pretty.”

The arrest was the culmination of a police chase through an unruly party in the 6300 block of 10th Avenue, attended by residents and probably some gang members, said Capt. Kenneth O. Garner of the 77th Street Community Police Station.

Two officers from the division were on patrol when they saw men drinking on steps outside the apartment complex, Garner said. One of the men clutched his waistband as if something was inside. Police went toward him and he ran into the courtyard of the apartment building, where there were about 100 people, according to Garner.

Another man tried to prevent police from entering the premises, so both officers used pepper spray to arrest and subdue the combative man, Garner said.

Officer Drew Gontram, 34, was trying to subdue the man when Officer Jaime Luna, 29, was hit in the head by a bottle allegedly thrown by Gibson, Garner said.

Gibson allegedly ran through the complex and tried to enter an apartment but was pushed out by residents. Gontram, Luna and five other officers caught up to Gibson and struggled to arrest him, Garner said.

Gibson was charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

“It was a significant use of force,” Bratton said. Eventually, about 100 police officers were called to the scene.

Investigations were launched immediately after the incident, police said. Within two days, police also held a community meeting to discuss what had happened and canvassed the area for witnesses.

Councilman Jack Weiss said of the new videotape: “That confrontation is 180 degrees from the Miller arrest. But it does underscore the use of the flashlight and the need to develop policies and training on their use.”