Daryl Gates, the tough-talking L.A. police chief who had already agreed to step down after the furor over the Rodney King videotape, was under fire again last week for the LAPD’s slow response to the rioting. In a soon-to-be published book, Gates admits the cops who beat King went too far. But he also blasts the public and politicians for not giving police more support. An excerpt:
The American public needs to grow up. At some point, the public is going to have to adopt a more realistic view of the police. The people pass laws to control traffic and pay the police to enforce those laws. Then, when we stop them for a violation, they get mad at us.
In the case of Rodney King, an ex-con who was driving while under the influence of alcohol-going way beyond the speed limit, being chased for several miles by police units with red lights flashing and sirens blaring-the media’s lopsided reporting [King was usually identified as “motorist Rodney King,” evoking a picture of a guy just out for a spin] resulted in many people damning the entire LAPD.
We are the best police department in the world, but we are not perfect. Rodney King should never have been hit fifty-six times; yet many of the blows which struck him were correctly placed so as not to cause serious injury, exactly as we teach in the Academy. Even in a situation where officers act entirely appropriately, as they did not in the King episode, when you are trying to subdue a moving, often violent suspect, one or two blows may miss their mark. It is the reality of police work in a world of violence and sociopathic behavior that is almost beyond human understanding.
Frightened citizens have responded in two ways. Some fortify their homes with expensive alarm systems, and their bedside tables with handguns. Others simply cry, “More police!”
Which is idiotic. More money, more police, more courts, more jails-these are solutions that make no sense. Already the citizens of Los Angeles expend $1 billion a year on police protection; they are being soaked enough.
The present system of criminal justice is not working, and never really has. I’ve thought long and hard about how the system can be improved. Here are some ideas:
In America, no attempt has ever been made to measure the number of burglars, robbers, murderers or rapists. With a little study and help from all of our computerized systems, law enforcement has the ability to make some fairly accurate assessments and greatly improve the chances of a counterattack.
They’re useless. A recent study by the Rand Corporation determined that within two years, two thirds of those released in probation commit crimes that lead to their rearrest.
We are simply not doing enough to prevent so many of our young people from becoming criminals. If all the talented parole and probation workers could be reassigned to working with potentially endangered children, it would be like mining a bright, shiny vein of gold.
This is the hot idea of the moment-forging an alliance between officers and neighborhoods they serve. The first problem is the need for more officers. But again, how much more can taxpayers be asked to pay?
And officers are only half of the partnership that is needed. For this concept to work, the neighborhood must be involved, and many people don’t want to bother. Their attitude towards the police is: It’s their job to stop crime-let them do it.
A police department puts out a product: to maintain peace and to reduce crime and violence so that people feel safe. Our goal should be customer satisfaction, but rarely do we bother to find out what the customer wants.
The amount of money allocated to policing is a decision that must be made by politicians. But the lack of control by the chief of police after that is appalling. I’ve often said to the political leadership: “Just tell me how much you are willing to spend on the police department and then give me some flexibility on how that money is spent.”
Some will say this is a chief who is minimizing police violence; I am not. I am just stating the facts. Judgments about the police come too quickly, too harshly, too often. For example, no credit was given to us after the King case for following recommendations prepared by the Urban League and the National Conference of Christians and Jews ten years ago.
The police are not the enemy-we truly belong to you. We will do your bidding and try to do the best possible job. As former LAPD Chief Tom Reddin used to say, “To know us is to love us.” Try it.
