Feds warn LAPD on racial profiling

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http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_16613073

The federal government has warned the Los Angeles Police Department to do more to combat racial profiling by officers, saying LAPD's investigations are inadequate.

In a letter to city and police officials, the U.S. Department of Justice cites a recording of two officers being dismissive of racial profiling complaints, a Los Angeles newspaper reported Sunday.

When told that other officers had been accused of stopping a motorist because of his race, one officer responds, "So, what?" The second officer is heard twice saying that he "couldn't do (his) job without racially profiling."

The officers didn't know they were being recorded.

Their comments spoke to a "perception and attitude of some LAPD officers on the street" and suggested "a culture that is inimical to race-neutral policing," Justice officials found.

Chief Charlie Beck said the conversation is not indicative of widespread practices at the department. The Justice Department investigation is based on cases that predated investigative guidelines put into place last year, Beck said.

The LAPD remains under federal oversight on the issue.

"It is a huge leap to paint the entire department with that brush," Beck told the newspaper. "And it is just not true. It's not that type of department. We have a tough history that we must overcome and that takes time, but the vast, vast majority of Los Angeles police officers today police in the right ways for the right
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reasons."Beck said he was concerned about the recorded comments of the two officers, and said that a misconduct investigation was opened.

As many as 250 profiling complaints are filed every year, the newspaper said. Officers are accused of targeting a person solely because of his or her race, ethnicity, religious garb or some other form of outward appearance.In the letter, the Justice Department expressed "continuing concerns about the overall quality of investigations of biased policing." Federal officials criticized investigators for "going through the motions" and found they "simply take ordered statements from officers and then run down a checklist of required questions without following up on key points or asking fundamental questions one would expect."

I think there is a place for racial profiling in law enforcement. For example: if a truck has a aztec eagle or "hecho en mexico" sticker in the back window, at all hours of the day that is a good cause for a terry stop to check for a dui. If you see a very young adult black male and both he and his escalade or hummer have lots of bling, that's a good one to terry stop and look for drugs and weapons.

For those of you who aren't familiar with a terry stop, is where the cops pull someone over for tiny infraction so they can get a closer look at someone and their car. It is legal.

You're not funny.

A good example of why government sucks.

WTF. Thats very blatant of you. I could understand if you said a Mexican flag or a Mexican national insignia of some sort was grounds to check for immigrants, but what you said was just plain offensive. Why would you imply that Mexicans are statistically speaking drunkards? And why does a young black man have to be a drug dealer to have bling? I've known black teens who work a job and sink most of their money into their cars it may not be wise but having a s**t ton of bling(and being black) doesn't make you a drug dealer. The only logical conclusions are you where either brought up wrong, your an idiot of some sort, or your a troll.

250 complaints per year actually sounds pretty low for a police department the size of the LAPD. It sounds like Bratton's years there did some good.