Panel OKs Changes to Speed Up Probes of Police Shootings

Saying that the public and officers alike are fed up with investigations into LAPD shootings that sometimes take a year or more, the Los Angeles Police Commission approved measures Tuesday that could cut three months off the process.

The commission approved a set of changes, including pursuing the purchase of digital tape recorders, more help from civilian employees to reduce the workload and an increased emphasis on internal discipline inquiries.

The recommendations were submitted to the panel by Los Angeles Police Department Inspector General Andre Birotte.

“We are looking at a system that is broke,” said John Mack, the commission’s president. “It strings everyone along.... We have Devin Brown still out there.”

In February, Devin, 13, was shot to death by Officer Steve Garcia as the boy backed a stolen car toward a police car in South Los Angeles.

The pace of the investigation has spurred public criticism of the time it takes to determine whether an officer has broken the law or violated department policy in using serious and sometimes deadly force.

The investigation into that shooting -- complete with a Hollywood-style re-creation -- is considered the department’s most complex in recent years. The LAPD has forwarded its findings to the district attorney’s office, which has yet to decide whether to charge Garcia.

Tuesday’s action is the latest sign that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s new Police Commission will be more of an activist body than its predecessors.

Both activists and police union officials generally applauded Tuesday’s changes.

Commission Vice President Alan Skobin said that a one-year statute of limitations for reviews of police shooting cases by the panel is barely being met and that the commission is often forced to rush its work. “We’ve got to change something, because it is not working,” he said.

When an officer shoots a weapon or uses other major force, it sets in motion criminal and administrative investigations by two teams of detectives. Once completed and determined to merit further action, the criminal investigation goes to prosecutors for review.

Until the prosecutors decide whether to file criminal charges, the administrative probe cannot be finished and the Police Commission cannot decide whether the officer’s actions adhered to department policy.

Commissioners approved seven recommendations Tuesday, including moving a team of officers in the Force Investigation Division from criminal investigation duties to the administrative side, because more incidents result in internal punishment than in criminal charges.

The panel also called for investigators to replace old-style tape recorders with digital ones. Birotte said months are often lost because tapes need to be sent out for transcription, which means investigators often lack immediate access to a recorded interview.

Deputy Chief Michael Berkow, who oversees all internal probes, told commissioners that his office had repeatedly sought $130,000 for such equipment, but without success.

He also expressed concern that a need for speed could conflict with the need for accuracy. He also told the commission Tuesday that a backlog of cases was being dealt with.

Another change the panel approved is to require that investigators conduct two interviews with officers involved in use-of-force incidents: the first within hours and the second after more facts have been gathered.

In addition, civilian employees will perform crime scene work, review interview transcripts for accuracy and produce incident presentations.

The Police Protective League, which represents officers, praised the changes.

“I think the public deserves better than what’s being allowed in the current investigation process,” said Hank Hernandez, the league’s general counsel. “The public deserves to know why these investigations take so long.”