Major systemic change needed to break the cycle of police racism, brutality and scandal

Twenty years ago, I was asked to do a study of the Los Angeles Police Department after the Rampart scandal. What I learned then guides my thinking with regard to police reform today.

I concluded then, and believe now, that major reforms of police departments are essential and that they can make a huge difference. But changing any institution, and especially its internal culture, is difficult and requires a sustained effort, usually with strong external oversight.

The Rampart scandal was one of the worst in the history of the LAPD. Police officers framed innocent individuals by planting evidence and committing perjury to gain convictions. Innocent men and women pleaded guilty to crimes they did not commit and were convicted by juries because of fabricated evidence against them. Many individuals were subjected to excessive police force and suffered very serious injuries as a result.

This came to light in early 2000 when a police officer, Rafael Perez, admitted to having switched cocaine for flour in the police evidence room and, as part of a plea deal, described the abuses that occurred. I was asked by the Ted Hunt, the president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the police union, to do an examination of the LAPD in light of the Rampart scandal.

I agreed on the condition that I could work with anyone I wanted and say anything I wished. I recruited five terrific civil rights lawyers to work with me on this. I interviewed almost 100 police officers, as well as prosecutors, defense lawyers and judges.

I came to realize that Los Angeles was in a repetitive cycle. First, there would be a major incident of police abuse. Then, investigative commissions would be created and issue reports. Some of their recommendations would be adopted, some not. The city would declare victory over the problem until the next incident when the cycle would repeat itself. I think this is true of our entire country with regard to problems in policing. It is a cycle that needs to be broken by dramatic changes in our criminal justice system.

I learned many things. I saw that, inevitably, incidents were dismissed as the result of a few bad cops. This was the reaction to the officers who beat Rodney King. This was the reaction to the officers in the Rampart scandal. Most recently, this was the reaction to the officers who killed George Floyd. This minimizes the problem and fails to recognize its systemic nature.

I learned that a crucial problem in the LAPD was the culture among officers. As I wrote, it was a culture that exalted Dirty Harry and shunned Serpico. There was a deeply embedded code of silence that kept officers from reporting misconduct of other officers. Many police officers told me that they were afraid that, if they reported misconduct, they would be transferred to less desirable positions and locations or, even worse, other officers would not protect their backs when they were in trouble.

From what I have seen, this is typical of many police departments. There need to be institutional mechanisms, such as inspectors general, to investigate misconduct. There must be a system of receiving complaints of police abuse and investigating them. There must be effective disciplinary systems to punish officer misconduct. There have to be mechanisms to track disciplinary violations and to remove officers with a pattern of abusive behavior.

I saw, too, that relying on prosecutors to expose police misconduct is inherently problematic. Prosecutors rely on police officers for testimony and evidence every day in their cases. I recommended that there be a special prosecutor, ideally located in the California attorney general’s office, to investigate criminal wrong-doing by police officers. Interestingly, Mayor Eric Garcetti just endorsed a special prosecutor for LAPD.

To be clear, I believe most police officers are hard-working, honest and responsible individuals who are doing their best, often under the most difficult circumstances. Indeed, my respect for the police was greatly enhanced by my contact with them in preparing the report.

But I believe that racism in policing has existed throughout American history and is reflected in the deaths of people like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Major reforms in our criminal justice system are needed and will happen only if there is the will to do so. My hope is that the national protests about police racism and police violence will lead to reforms that really will make a difference.