LAPD investigating 56 allegations of misconduct by officers during protests; 7 taken out of the field

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating 56 allegations of misconduct by officers during protests against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death, officials said Wednesday.

Of the 56 investigations, 28 involve alleged use of force, the LAPD said Wednesday in a statement. Seven officers have been taken out of the field pending the outcome of the investigations.

The LAPD has tasked 40 investigators with looking into the allegations of misconduct, excessive force and violations of departmental policy during the protests.

Numerous videos reviewed by the Los Angeles Times show LAPD violence against protesters. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said last week that footage of officers swinging at people with batons and firing foam rounds concerned him.

Representatives of Black Lives Matter-LA and the Los Angeles Community Action Network said Wednesday they wanted to end police officers’ use of rubber projectiles, batons and other less-lethal force, particularly against peaceful protesters.

Standing in front of Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, LACAN Executive Director Pete White emptied a bag of used rubber bullet shells and casings along with other items he said were used against participants in protests against police brutality following the in-custody killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Two members of the City Council and Police Commission President Eileen Decker have called for the Los Angeles Police Department to conduct a review of the way officers used force during the protests. Moore said he would commission an “extensive after-action report” to evaluate the police agency’s performance over the last week.

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) wrote a letter to Decker calling for the civilian commission to investigate how the department responded to demonstrations in the Fairfax District, where some of the videos were taken.

Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Garcetti said this week that he would look to cut as much as $150 million from the department’s budget in response to long-standing criticism from activists that the city spends entirely too much on law enforcement. That figure represents only a fraction of the Police Department’s $1.8-billion operating budget.