Los Angeles Police Department Meltdown: The Fall of the Professional-Reform Model of Policing

284 Pages·2012·7.01 MB·English

by  James Lasley

FORENSICS & CRIMINAL JUSTICE Lasley
Advances in Police Theory and Practice Series
Los Angeles
Los Angeles Police Department Meltdown
Police Department
The Fall of the Professional-Reform Model of Policing
L
Once considered among the most respected police departments in the world, the LAPD o
suffered a devastating fall from grace following the 1991 police officer beating of Rodney s Meltdown

King and the Los Angeles riots stemming from the officers’ acquittal in 1992. Unique to the A
literature of policing, management, and policy studies, Los Angeles Police Department n
Meltdown: The Fall of the Professional-Reform Model of Policing presents what can g
be considered the first and only existing research document truly explaining the reasons e
The Fall of the Professional-Reform
l
behind the LAPD’s demise. e
s
Model of Policing
The book reveals a special inside study performed by the author under the exclusive P
authority of LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Gates to investigate why the department o
had begun to disintegrate following the Rodney King incident, and how, if possible, it l
i
could be salvaged. The findings presented are based on first-hand written accounts of c
LAPD officer informants who describe their observations of the department’s meltdown e

as it occurred. These accounts explain why the crime-fighting enforcement style of the D
once highly regarded Professional-Reform Model of policing (coined at the LAPD)
e
was abandoned in police departments across the nation in favor of the less aggressive
p
community-based policing model.
a
r
Lost for some 20 years under mysterious circumstances after collection and storage at the t
m
LAPD, these officer informant materials were recently retrieved and made available for
analysis. They are presented in their entirety in this book. e
n
In every respect, this work is the final word on why and how the LAPD—a police t

organization emulated throughout the world—ultimately self-destructed after 41 years M
of serving and protecting the City of Angels.
e
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K14343
James Lasley
6000 Broken Sound Parkway, NW
Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487
711 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017
an informa business
2 Park Square, Milton Park
www.taylorandfrancisgroup.com Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN, UK www.crcpress.com
K14343_cover.indd 1 7/3/12 11:27 AM
Los Angeles
Police Department
Meltdown
The Fall of the Professional-Reform
Model of Policing
Advances in Police Theory and Practice Series
Series Editor: Dilip K. Das
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Los Angeles
Police Department
Meltdown
The Fall of the Professional-Reform
Model of Policing
James Lasley
Boca Raton London New York
CRC Press is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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© 2012 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
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Version Date: 20120221
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To all the LAPD street officers whose voices were never heard.

Contents
Series Preface xiii
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
About the Author xix
1 Parker’s Thin Blue Line: The Professional-Reform
Model (PRM) of Policing: Historical Overview 1
The Pre-Parker Era 2
The Political Model and LAPD Corruption 2
Parker Inherits a Tarnished Badge 3
The Parker Era 3
Parker’s Police Professionalism 3
LAPD’s “Clean Cop” Image 4
Quasi-Military Style of Management 5
The Thin Blue Line 5
Intelligence Gathering 6
The Bloody Christmas 7
LAPD and the Media 8
The Watts Riots 8
Parker Passes 10
The Davis Era 10
Choosing Parker’s Successor 10
The “New Age” Crime Wave 11
The Gates Era 12
The War on Crime Continues 15
Changing Times 17
New Officer Diversity 17
The King Incident and Gates’ 10-Point Plan 18
The Christopher Commission 19
The Los Angeles Riots 20
References 25
vii
viii Contents
2 The Study: A Qualitative Analysis of LAPD’s
Organizational Dying Declarations 27
Criminal Intent and Organizational Death 27
Determining Whether or Not to Pull the Plug 28
The Thin Blue “Flat” Line 31
Admissibility of the Evidence 33
Missing in Action 36
Research Methodology: Preparing for an Organizational
Autopsy 37
Officer Sample 37
Theme Development 39
Presentation of Findings 40
Study Limitations and Database 40
References 41
3 Assessing the Meltdown 43
Was There a Meltdown? 43
Theme 1: Temporary Damage—“Things Will Go Back
to Normal” 43
Theme 2: Permanent Damage—“The Department Is
Melting Down” 45
How Extensive Was the Meltdown? 47
Was the Meltdown Rapid or Slow? 49
Subtheme 1: Persistent Problems Were Ignored 51
Subtheme 2: Discontent Over Hiring Practices 52
Subtheme 3: Poor or Inadequate Training 53
Subtheme 4: Ineffective or Unresponsive Administration
and Management 55
Subtheme 5: Inadequate Equipment and Poor Working
Conditions 56
What Caused the Meltdown? 58
Did the Meltdown Kill the Professional Model? 58
References 60
4 The Rodney King Incident 61
Possible Explanations 61
The Justified Use of Force Explanation 61
The “Few Bad Apples” Explanation 64
The “Tip of the Iceberg” Explanation 65
Contents ix
Officer Statements and Themes 66
Theme 1: Media Distortion and Political Manipulation of
the King Incident 66
Theme 2: Unjustified Treatment of Patrol Officers Following
the King Incident 71
Theme 3: The Rodney King Incident Is LAPD “Business as
Usual” 74
Theme Analysis 76
Conclusions 77
References 78
5 Politicians, Special Interest Groups, and
Community Influences 79
Possible Explanations 79
Opponents Got Stronger 79
The LAPD Got Weaker 82
Officer Statements and Themes 83
Theme 1: LAPD Is “Running Scared” and “Kowtowing” to
Attackers 83
Subtheme 1A: Cops Should Run LAPD, Not Politicians
and the Public 88
Subtheme 1B: Chief Gates Was Targeted and Hit by
Political Attacks 90
Theme 2: If LAPD Buckles to Critics and Enemies,
Crooks Will Rule the Streets 93
Subtheme 2A: LAPD Will Become Like Other Large
Police Departments 100
Subtheme 2B: Officers Will Respond to Attacks by
Working Less 102
Theme Analysis 105
Conclusion 106
References 108
6 Hiring, Promotions, and Affirmative Action 109
Possible Explanations 112
The Conformity Explanation 112
The Individual Identity Explanation 113
Officer Statements and Themes 113
Nonminority Male Officers 114
Minority Male Officers 125
Female Officers 128