LAPD VIOLENCE: SAME OLD STORY? CELL-PHONE PHOTO SHOWS OFFICERS BEATING SUSPECT POLICE USE FORCE ON SUSPECT AND EVERYONE CAN WITNESS IT.Byline: BETH BARRETT, TROY ANDERSON and SUE DOYLE Staff Writers A troubling video that surfaced on the Internet showing a Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. police officer repeatedly punching a suspect in the face has prompted the FBI to open an inquiry and sparked questions about authorities' handling of the three-month-old case. In a chilling reminder of the videotaped police beating of motorist Rodney King Rodney Glen King (born April 9, 1965 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an African-American taxicab driver who was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department officers (Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno and Sargent Stacey Koon) after being chased for speeding. in 1991, the video posted Oct. 18 on YouTube.com shows one LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. officer holding down William Cardenas, 23, as another places his knee on the suspect's neck and punches him a half-dozen times in the face. Cardenas, lying on his back, is seen struggling and can be heard yelling for help and saying he can't breathe. The video, which only now publicly surfaced, was in the hands of Los Angeles County prosecutors for nearly two months, but was not turned over to the LAPD until last month. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. didn't know about it until Thursday. Police Chief William Bratton said the department has been investigating the Aug. 11 incident involving Hollywood Division Officers Patrick Farrell and Alexander Schlegel. The two have been placed on paid desk duty pending the outcome of the probe. The brief clips, shot by an unidentified woman using a cell-phone camera, drew a sharp and immediate reaction from civil-rights advocates. ``It's absolutely outrageous,'' 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 forced LAPD reforms in the wake of King's beating by four white LAPD officers. ``Public confidence is eroded e·rode v. e·rod·ed, e·rod·ing, e·rodes v.tr. 1. To wear (something) away by or as if by abrasion: Waves eroded the shore. 2. To eat into; corrode. when we discover such incidents by chance ... The fact that this incident only came to light after being posted on a popular Web site dramatically illustrates how far we are from that ideal and that police reform still languishes.'' Mayor `troubled' Villaraigosa said the footage is disturbing, but that he is withholding judgment until the LAPD completes its investigation. ``I am deeply troubled by what I saw,'' Villaraigosa said. ``I have called upon (Bratton) and the inspector general to ensure a swift and thorough investigation. ``We will not tolerate the misuse of force in any circumstance.'' Asked about the video during his monthly meeting with reporters, Bratton said investigators will consider the events leading up to the confrontation, as well as what the camera captured. ``Policing is oftentimes of·ten·times also oft·times adv. Frequently; repeatedly. Adv. 1. oftentimes - many times at short intervals; "we often met over a cup of coffee" frequently, oft, often, ofttimes not pretty,'' he said. ``Videos, especially if you see a slice of it, can be even less pretty. ``While on (the) whole, it doesn't look pretty, it may be lawful, and that's why we have these investigations.'' FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said that after viewing the video, the agency's Los Angeles office opened an inquiry to determine whether Cardenas' civil rights had been violated. Questions were also being raised about the pace of the investigation, and why it remains unresolved almost three months after the Aug. 11 incident. The video was presented by Cardenas' attorneys Sept. 14, during his preliminary hearing on two felony felony (fĕl`ənē), any grave crime, in contrast to a misdemeanor, that is so declared in statute or was so considered in common law. counts of resisting arrest resisting arrest n. the crime of using physical force (no matter how slight in the eyes of most law enforcement officers) to prevent arrest, handcuffing and/or taking the accused to jail. . But LAPD spokesman Paul Vernon said prosecutors didn't notify the department's Force Investigation Division about the video until Oct. 17 -- more than a month later. District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Jane Robison said prosecutors' efforts were hampered when technical problems prevented them from viewing the 20-second video. The delay was the result of interoffice in·ter·of·fice adj. Transmitted or taking place between offices, especially those of a single organization: an interoffice memo; interoffice conferences. investigative work, she said, including efforts to retrieve more video. Robison also said prosecutors had given the LAPD a compact disc containing the video Aug. 29, but Vernon said the investigator never reviewed it. It was unclear whether the officers were able to view the video during the court hearing, Vernon said, adding that they had no obligation to report its existence. Wanted on warrant According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a transcript of the preliminary hearing, Schlegel testified that he and Farrell saw Cardenas and two other men drinking beer about 6 p.m. Aug. 11 at Gordon Street and Fountain Avenue Fountain Avenue, located in Brooklyn, New York is a site off of the Belt Parkway, specifically Exit 15, which exit is Erskine Street, and which is composed of mostly landfill and has areas of swampland-like forest growth. There are various nature groups, city groups, etc. in Hollywood. Schlegel testified that he recognized Cardenas as a member of the Gordon Street Locos gang who was wanted on an outstanding felony warrant for possession of a stolen gun. Farrell said he yelled for the men to raise their hands and turn around, but that Cardenas ran and threw a black object that ``sounded heavy'' when it landed. Schlegel testified that he chased Cardenas, tripped him and got atop his back to try to handcuff him. But Cardenas -- 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds -- rolled over and punched him in the face, Schlegel said. Schlegel testified that Farrell used his right knee to push Cardenas back onto the ground, but that Cardenas twisted to avoid the handcuffs hand·cuff n. A restraining device consisting of a pair of strong, connected hoops that can be tightened and locked about the wrists and used on one or both arms of a prisoner in custody; a manacle. Often used in the plural. tr.v. . Schlegel testified that Cardenas tugged at his gun belt and Farrell yelled, ``Watch your gun.'' At that point, he said, Farrell punched Cardenas in the face to keep him from grabbing Schlegel's weapon. Schlegel testified that Cardenas grabbed Farrell, who punched him again. Schlegel said he pepper-sprayed Cardenas and called for backup. Schlegel testified that Cardenas' two friends showed up and joined a crowd that had gathered about 10 feet away. At his friends' urging, Cardenas stopped fighting and was taken into custody, the officer said. It is believed that a woman in the crowd used her cell-phone camera and posted the video on the Internet. Knee on his chest Under cross-examination by Cardenas' attorney, B. Kwaku Duren, Schlegel testified that the struggle lasted five to 10 minutes and that Cardenas told them he couldn't breathe because Farrell had his knee on his upper chest. ``But we were not going to let him up,'' Schlegel testified. ``He was gonna get away.'' According to the transcript, Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Ronald Rose said he reviewed the video and believed the officers' actions were reasonable. ``The issue here is not whether the officers had to use force,'' Rose said. ``The question is whether or not (Cardenas) used force in resisting arrest. ... And when a citizen chooses to use force against the officers, they are entitled to use force in return to subdue sub·due tr.v. sub·dued, sub·du·ing, sub·dues 1. To conquer and subjugate; vanquish. See Synonyms at defeat. 2. To quiet or bring under control by physical force or persuasion; make tractable. 3. the individual.'' Cardenas has pleaded not guilty and a trial is set for Nov. 20. He is being held in the North County Correctional Facility North County Correctional Facility (NCCF) is a Los Angeles County Jail, run by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Located approximately 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, it is one of four jails located within the Pitchess Detention Center (named after former in Saugus. On Thursday, Duren denied that Cardenas -- whom he is representing for free -- has gang ties and or that he resisted officers' efforts to arrest him. ``Mr. Cardenas had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear on a stolen property charge, which was later dismissed, and didn't feel like going to jail that day,'' said Duren, who chairs the New Panther Vanguard Movement The New Panther Vanguard Movement was created in South Central Los Angeles as a response to the Los Angeles rebellion ("riots") of 1992. Former members of the Black Panther Party and other community activists came together after the rebellion and shared their frustration with the lack of , a South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. political group. ``They tackled him, and what we saw on the video took place. He just gave up; there was no resisting after they tackled him.'' Duren said Cardenas suffered a black eye, split lip and bruised bruise v. bruised, bruis·ing, bruis·es v.tr. 1. a. To injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of (part of the body) without breaking the skin, as by a blow. b. head and that the police took him to a local hospital for treatment after his arrest. Duren said Cardenas wants to see the charges against him reduced to a misdemeanor, and plans to sue the city for use of excessive force. The District Attorney's Office said it will wait for police to complete their investigation before deciding whether to pursue criminal charges against the officers. Gary Ingemunson, independent counsel for the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said the union backs the officers' conduct. ``We absolutely stand by them,'' Ingemunson said. ``These are what are called `distraction strikes' and officers are trained in how to deliver them. Unfortunately, they are needed when suspects resist arrest -- and violence on a camera always looks bad -- but it's part of the dangers that our officers face every day.'' Officer complaints The video comes just months after a federal judge refused to lift an LAPD consent decree A settlement of a lawsuit or criminal case in which a person or company agrees to take specific actions without admitting fault or guilt for the situation that led to the lawsuit. A consent decree is a settlement that is contained in a court order. imposed five years ago in the wake of the Rampart scandal. Provisions of the decree compel the department to track complaints against officers. Connie Rice, the civil-rights attorney who chaired the blue-ribbon Rampart Review Panel, said the video raises questions about the success of efforts to reform the department. And Rice said the problems run deeper than compliance with the consent decree, which has been extended until 2009 partly because a computerized system of monitoring officers isn't in place. ``(The consent decree) isn't going to fix the basic problem ... They already know who the problem officers are, who gets in an extra lick lick 1. a stroke with the tongue, normally used in cleaning the coat or ingesting a substance from a flat surface. See also licking. 2. a mixture of salt plus other macro-elements, especially phosphorus, trace elements, vitamins and other feed additives, fed loosely in a box on every arrest. The solution is for LAPD to admit it has a use-of-force problem.'' Staff Writers Brent Hopkins, Dennis McCarthy Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
beth.barrett(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3731 CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) A single frame from a video, photographed by a cell-phone camera and now on the Internet, shows two officers beating William Cardenas. Authorities say they are investigating the incident, which the officers said occurred when Cardenas appeared to reach for an officer's gun during an arrest. (2 -- color) William Cardenas, here with daughter Keyana, is awaiting trial on two counts of resisting arrest. (3) This is a frame of the cell-phone video of the beating of William Cardenas by LAPD officers that appears on YouTube.com. |
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