COALITION SEEKS POLICE PROBE.Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer A coalition of 29 civil rights groups announced its formation on Thursday, asking that an independent prosecutor be brought in to investigate the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . and the corruption scandal involving the LAPD's Rampart Division. ``It is apparent the current system is not working,'' said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , which organized the Coalition for Police Accountability. ``We don't think the LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. can investigate itself and we don't think the District Attorney's Office can prosecute the very people they need to testify in cases.'' The Public Defender's Office has estimated as many as 3,000 cases might be involved as a result of admissions of wrongdoing wrong·do·er n. One who does wrong, especially morally or ethically. wrong  do made by former LAPD Officer Rafael Perez, although the District Attorney's Office has said the figure is much lower. Ripston said it was not completely clear what steps the coalition - which includes the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), organization composed mainly of American blacks, but with many white members, whose goal is the end of racial discrimination and segregation. , the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), civil-rights organization founded in 1957 by Martin Luther King, Jr., and headed by him until his assassination in 1968. and other organizations - will take other than to call for the independent investigation. ``We will be meeting after the first of the year to determine exactly what step will be taken next,'' Ripston said, adding the group does plan to attend Police Commission meetings to make its point. City officials, however, said the coalition should allow the current procedures to work. ``We have an independent inspector general and an independent Police Commission,'' Mayor Richard Riordan said. ``They should give them a chance to do their work. ``The one thing they're forgetting is that it was Police Chief (Bernard C.) Parks who uncovered this. You can't just conduct an investigation overnight. They should give the Christopher Commission reforms a chance to work.'' District Attorney Gil Garcetti also believes an independent investigation is not needed, a spokeswoman said. ``What the district attorney has shown in the Rampart case is how effective we have been in prosecuting police officers,'' spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons Famous people named Gibbons include:
``Last year, we prosecuted 56 law enforcement officers - including the LAPD - for a variety of crimes, ranging from rape to murder. How much more aggressive do they want us to be? We were the ones who went to court to seek release of people, even when they pleaded guilty. We have been moving with lightning speed.'' |
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