LA riots: How much did 1992 change the police? (Los Angeles, Paradise: house, authority)

[Baldrick]

A good article.

BBC News - LA riots: How 1992 changed the police

"The Los Angeles riots erupted on 29 April 1992 after four white police officers were acquitted over the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King. Anger led to days of looting and burning, 54 deaths and $1bn (£610m) of damage to the city. A state of emergency was declared in South Central Los Angeles.
In the wake of the riots the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was forced to change."

A link to a video on the same subject:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17885221

[SalParadise]

I think the Rampart scandal and the federal consent decree which followed did as much as the 1992 riots to change the LAPD. And of course, these events opened the door to put in William Bratton as police chief. The LAPD needed an outsider with authority and clout to come in and help clean up their act.

But the 1992 riots certainly were a begining of the end of the old LAPD.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by SalParadise

the 1992 riots certainly were a begining of the end of the old LAPD.

Thank goodness.
"I am proud of the extraordinary and often difficult transformation the LAPD has undergone in the years since the uprising, and the fact that we have been able to apply the lessons learned to become a better police department and city." -Charlie Beck
Since the Los Angeles riots, the LAPD has been transformed - latimes.com

[Fontucky]

It was 68% white then, and is 60% non-white now.

[SalParadise]

You mean the LAPD?

[Fontucky]

Yes

[Dunbar42]

I watched some of a Rodney King interview on CSPAN Sunday. He describes as a kid frequently seeing LAPD officers taking black jail inmates up into the hills to beat them. He said one day an LAPD officer stopped him and proudly pointed out whose head had made particular dents in his car (names of people that King knew.) It's crazy to think the police could be still be so corrupt in the 80's and 90's.

[West of Encino]

The LAPD has changed from being a sociopath police force whose culture was different from that of the City of Los Angeles, to being a police force allegedly working with communities and relating to city culture. The pre-1992 LAPD was predominately white male and is now plurality brown.

[Mr. Opinionated]

Yes it was routine, beating black men during traffic stops, as I grew up during the 70's. They beat up my brother and cousin in front of our house in 1974. It was just never busted on tape until Rodney. And even then there were still bigots talking trash like, "What happened to Rodney King, he deserved it. He was running from the police. If he hadn't, the police wouldn't have done what they did." Just like they claim about Trayvon Martin. This was also the mentality shared by LAPD officers who saw the community as inhabited by subhuman savages who needed corporal taming.

[DocGoldstein]

I think the police became a lot more conscientious about the treatment of people they detain. Overall it was a positive result, from a horrible incident.