WWW.USDOJ.GOV

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REACHES AGREEMENT

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The City of Los Angeles will implement new policies and procedures for managing and supervising the Los Angeles Police Department to ensure that the LAPD conducts its law enforcement responsibilities in a lawful and nondiscriminatory manner, under an agreement announced today by the Justice Department.

The agreement, approved today by the Los Angeles City Council, resolves the Justice Department's claims that LAPD officers are engaging in a pattern or practice of excessive force, false arrests, and illegal searches and seizures, as well as its investigation of allegations that officers engaged in discriminatory policing. The agreement is in the form of a court-ordered consent decree which will be filed along with a complaint in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The agreement must be approved by the federal court.

"This is a historic and comprehensive agreement which provides for meaningful and necessary reform of the LAPD in a fair and reasonable way," said Bill Lann Lee, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "We are pleased that the city has worked together with the Justice Department to achieve an agreement that will benefit all the people of Los Angeles."

As a result of the agreement, the city will:

• implement a new, computerized "early warning" system for tracking the law enforcement activities of all officers, which will enable LAPD managers and supervisors to implement non-disciplinary measures, where appropriate, to address at-risk conduct and make informed decisions on promotions and transfers;

• analyze trends in LAPD units regarding misconduct complaints and uses of force, searches and seizures, and other law enforcement activities to enable managers to implement corrective measures where problems are detected;

• create a new LAPD unit of specially trained officers responsible for "rolling out" and investigating officer-involved shootings and other significant uses of force;
• shift responsibility for investigating complaints alleging excessive force and other serious misconduct to a specialized LAPD unit, and ensure that these investigations are conducted in an impartial, thorough, and prompt manner;

• prohibit officers from relying on race, national origin, or ethnicity when making traffic and pedestrian stops or when initiating any post-stop actions, except when attempting to locate a suspect who has been identified by such a characteristic;

• collect data on the race, national origin, or ethnicity of persons who are the subject of traffic and pedestrian stops, and analyze the data for any indicators of bias or other improper conduct;

• implement stringent controls over units responsible for investigating gang activity;

• implement procedures for controlling and documenting the use of confidential informants

• institute a study and review process to ensure that the LAPD uses appropriate measures for responding to persons with mental illness;

• train supervisors before they are deployed and train all officers in community policing and the use of techniques for de-escalating potentially violent situations;

• conduct regular, extensive audits of LAPD unit and officer activity, with audits conducted by the LAPD's Inspector General and a special LAPD audit unit;

• expand the roles played by the Police Commission and the Inspector General, with specific responsibilities assigned to these officials for carrying out the requirements of the agreement; and

• issue regular public reports regarding LAPD operations and measures being taken by the city to implement the agreement.

To ensure that the city fulfills its obligations under the agreement, the parties will together select an independent monitor, who will serve as an agent of the federal court. The monitor will have broad access to LAPD and city personnel and documents and will publish quarterly reports detailing the city's compliance with the consent decree.

This is the fifth police misconduct suit filed by the Justice Department. Three of the cases, against the State of New Jersey, the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the city of Steubenville, Ohio, also were resolved through settlements. The other case, against the city of Columbus, Ohio, is in litigation. Under legislation adopted in 1994, the Justice Department has the authority to file civil suits for injunctive relief against law enforcement agencies that engage in a pattern or practice of misconduct.

###

00-643