L.A. Police Commission Cites `Alarming' Rise in Shootings by Police// NY Times
by Ian Lovett
LOS ANGELES — Citing an “alarming” rise in shootings by police over the last year, the civilian board that oversees the Los Angeles police called on Tuesday for an extensive review of the department’s policies on the use of force.
The new president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, Matt Johnson, said reducing officers’ use of force was one of his top priorities for the department, on par with bringing down the overall crime rate.
The number of shootings by the police so far this year has nearly doubled, to 45 from 23 during the same period last year, Mr. Johnson said. He added that, like other departments, the Los Angeles police were facing “a crisis of confidence with minority communities, particularly African-Americans,” in the wake of police shootings of black civilians across the country.
“We must fully commit to minimizing the number of use-of-force incidents,” Mr. Johnson said. In addition to review of use-of force incidents, he called for an examination, and possible expansion, of nonlethal options like Tasers and beanbag shotguns.
The Los Angeles police spent more than a decade under a federal consent decree after dozens of officers were accused of corruption and evidence tampering. From 2001 until 2013, the federal government imposed reforms on the police here, which helped the department move past a history that had often been checkered with officer abuse of the public.
It has come to be regarded by many authorities as a leader in community policing.
Mr. Johnson’s comments on Tuesday acknowledged problems that police had faced recently, after years of falling crime rates and praise from the law enforcement community. Homicides, violent crime and property crime have all increased by at least 10 percent so far in 2015 compared with last year. August was the deadliest month since 2007, with 39 homicides, Mr. Johnson said.
“It’s concerning to me,” Steve Soboroff, another member of the police commission, said of the rising crime numbers. “The job of being a police officer is changing dramatically, with all these modifications in training, dealing with the mentally ill, use of force.”
But he said 20 to 30 factors were contributing to the rising crime rate, such as changing state laws that have let many minor drug offenders stay out of prison.
“I don’t attribute it to something wrong with the Police Department,” he said.
The Los Angeles police chief, Charlie Beck, and the department did not comment on the commission’s action Tuesday.
Police departments across the country are facing increased scrutiny of their use of force. Just Tuesday, Southern California Public Radio, a local radio station, published an investigation detailing nearly 400 police shootings in Los Angeles in recent years, none of which have been prosecuted as homicides.
“If there’s one major department that has transformed itself in the last 10 years, it’s the Los Angeles Police Department,” said Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum. “But every police department in the country is under increased scrutiny because of what we’ve seen in the last year. They have to continue to make progress and look for ways to de-escalate to maintain their leadership position.”
Connie Rice, a civil rights lawyer who has worked to help carry out reforms at the Los Angeles Police Department over the last decade, said it was encouraging that police officials were looking at the complication question of how to deal with use of force.
“Right now, police have a down-to-the-bone belief that they have to watch suspects’ hands, and if the hands move, they can shoot,” Ms. Rice said. “We are going to have to work this through with them, and show them why that isn’t so.”
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by Ian Lovett
LOS ANGELES — Citing an “alarming” rise in shootings by police over the last year, the civilian board that oversees the Los Angeles police called on Tuesday for an extensive review of the department’s policies on the use of force.
The new president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, Matt Johnson, said reducing officers’ use of force was one of his top priorities for the department, on par with bringing down the overall crime rate.
The number of shootings by the police so far this year has nearly doubled, to 45 from 23 during the same period last year, Mr. Johnson said. He added that, like other departments, the Los Angeles police were facing “a crisis of confidence with minority communities, particularly African-Americans,” in the wake of police shootings of black civilians across the country.
“We must fully commit to minimizing the number of use-of-force incidents,” Mr. Johnson said. In addition to review of use-of force incidents, he called for an examination, and possible expansion, of nonlethal options like Tasers and beanbag shotguns.
The Los Angeles police spent more than a decade under a federal consent decree after dozens of officers were accused of corruption and evidence tampering. From 2001 until 2013, the federal government imposed reforms on the police here, which helped the department move past a history that had often been checkered with officer abuse of the public.
It has come to be regarded by many authorities as a leader in community policing.
Mr. Johnson’s comments on Tuesday acknowledged problems that police had faced recently, after years of falling crime rates and praise from the law enforcement community. Homicides, violent crime and property crime have all increased by at least 10 percent so far in 2015 compared with last year. August was the deadliest month since 2007, with 39 homicides, Mr. Johnson said.
“It’s concerning to me,” Steve Soboroff, another member of the police commission, said of the rising crime numbers. “The job of being a police officer is changing dramatically, with all these modifications in training, dealing with the mentally ill, use of force.”
But he said 20 to 30 factors were contributing to the rising crime rate, such as changing state laws that have let many minor drug offenders stay out of prison.
“I don’t attribute it to something wrong with the Police Department,” he said.
The Los Angeles police chief, Charlie Beck, and the department did not comment on the commission’s action Tuesday.
Police departments across the country are facing increased scrutiny of their use of force. Just Tuesday, Southern California Public Radio, a local radio station, published an investigation detailing nearly 400 police shootings in Los Angeles in recent years, none of which have been prosecuted as homicides.
“If there’s one major department that has transformed itself in the last 10 years, it’s the Los Angeles Police Department,” said Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum. “But every police department in the country is under increased scrutiny because of what we’ve seen in the last year. They have to continue to make progress and look for ways to de-escalate to maintain their leadership position.”
Connie Rice, a civil rights lawyer who has worked to help carry out reforms at the Los Angeles Police Department over the last decade, said it was encouraging that police officials were looking at the complication question of how to deal with use of force.
“Right now, police have a down-to-the-bone belief that they have to watch suspects’ hands, and if the hands move, they can shoot,” Ms. Rice said. “We are going to have to work this through with them, and show them why that isn’t so.”
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