Feds To Oversee LAPD

Nov. 3 -- With reluctance, the mayor of Los Angeles said Thursday he would sign an agreement that will let the Justice Department oversee the scandal-plagued Los Angeles Police Department.

The consent decree Mayor Richard Riordan agreed to sign mandates broad reforms to identify and discipline rogue officers. But Riordan stressed he remains opposed to the decree in concept.

“As mayor of the city of Los Angeles, I have often had tough days, but I can think of none tougher than this,” Riordan said. “I am philosophically opposed to this consent decree because it undermines a core belief of mine: that local government must be held accountable to its people, not to a distant bureaucracy.”

The agreement comes as the LAPD continues to defend itself in a scandal where nearly 100 convictions have been overturned amid allegations of illegal arrests against the Rampart division’s anti-gang unit. Currently, as many as 70 current and former police officers are under investigation by state and federal agencies for allegedly beating, robbing and framing innocent people.

The probe into the allegations began last year when undercover officer Rafael Perez was convicted of stealing cocaine from a police evidence locker. In exchange for a five-year sentence, he identified dozens of fellow officers he claimed abused their power, framed and robbed drug suspects and protected each other by maintaining a code of silence between 1995 and 1998. Four of those officers are currently on trial.

Avoiding Costly Court BattleThe decree is not rooted in the Rampart scandal but a four-year probe of the LAPD by the Justice Department which alleged a “pattern or practice” of civil rights abuses over several years.

Riordan and LAPD Chief Bernard Parks had fought the decreefor months. They submitted only to avoid a costly legalbattle with the Justice Department which had threatened to suethe city if reforms were not made.

“No one wins if this city and the federal government engage in costly and lengthy litigation,” Riordan said.