Letters to the Editor: LAPD needs to find a way to both call out abuses and rein in massive payouts

To the editor: The problem of police officers gaming the system for potential large payoffs certainly needs to be reined in (“Officers are winning massive payouts in ‘LAPD lottery’ lawsuits,” May 14). At the same time, the L.A. Times has also illustrated the challenge of bucking LAPD cliques (remember Rampart?), so we know there is a need for a system where rank and file can call out abuses.

The story that I am missing in all of this is how lawyers, juries and judges justify the massive payouts in some of these cases. The police couple who were awarded nearly $11 million because of alleged retribution? That is a lot of retribution. Are those two officers still at their jobs? The L.A. Times would do the citizens of L.A. a great service by looking into how such payoffs are generated and how anyone justifies them.

Ian McIlvaine, Venice

..

To the editor: Your story on the big legal expenses at the LAPD buries the lede. High legal costs are a way of life for employers in California. Some would argue we have the best workers’ rights and best protection for the workers here; others would argue California is the worst state in the country to do business in and that one of the main reasons is because there are huge legal costs for even minor mistakes. Whatever the position, this is endemic to California. The laws are set up for plaintiffs and plaintiff lawyers in particular.

Craig Nadel, Santa Monica