On Jan. 8, 2007, a Los Angeles Police Department disciplinary board secretly decided not to punish the officer who killed 13-year-old Devin Brown two years ago. The LAPD board rejected a January 2006 ruling by the civilian Police Commission that the act violated department policy.
The LAPD disciplinary board met behind closed doors and overruled the civilian Police Commission by determining
|
On Feb. 6, 2005, Brown, an African American eighth-grader at a local school for gifted youth, led police on a brief car chase. Brown crashed the car he was driving and began to back up slowly. LAPD officer Garcia then fired 10 shots at the car. Seven shots hit and killed Brown, who was unarmed.
The disciplinary board, which included two high-ranking LAPD officials and a civilian representative, said it was not required to hold an open hearing because of last summer’s California Supreme Court decision, which ruled that police officer personnel documents were not public records.
Some members of the Police Commission were disappointed in the secret panel’s ruling. John Mack, president of the Police Commission, said that he felt as if he and his colleagues on the commission had been undermined. “I’m very, very disappointed in that finding,” said Mack. “Our commission felt the facts were clear. It was my expectation that the board of rights would see the facts as we saw them and take disciplinary action.” (Los Angeles Times, Jan. 10, 2007)
LAPD chief William Bratton supported the ruling by the secret disciplinary panel. “I think that’s an appropriate finding,” he said. “I’m very comfortable with that.”
The Los Angeles Police Commission was created after the horrific beating of Rodney King by the LAPD in 1992. The release of the LAPD officers involved in the beating led to a mass uprising in South Los Angeles that spread to other parts of the city.
The Police Commission supposedly acts as the civilian oversight body for the LAPD and has the authority to shape
|
For example, the Police Commission’s report on the killing of 19-month-old Suzie Marie Pe?a put all the blame on her father, Jose Raul Pe?a.
After the killing of Devin Brown by the LAPD, people were outraged in the communities of South Los Angeles. Many progressive organizations, including the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) called for the shooter—officer Garcia—to be fired, jailed and prosecuted for murder.
South Los Angeles has long been the target of police terror. The murders of Devin Brown, Susie Pe?a, Deandre Brunston—killed by L.A. County Sheriffs in Compton—and the beatings of countless others show how the police terrorize working-class and oppressed communities.
The disciplinary panel decision gives the LAPD the “official” cover it needs to continue to operate as a racist instrument of oppression—an integral part of the capitalist state. At the same time, the panel’s complete disregard for the Police Commission’s ruling demonstrated how weak and toothless the civilian oversight commission really is.
Demanding true community control over the police is a relevant, progressive demand as police violence against working-class communities goes otherwise unchecked.
