Black community enraged by L.A. police atrocities

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DOB 1 23 50 NAME NAME LAURENCE DATE CASE CASE 0323X LAPD officers Stacey Koon, Timothy Wind, Laurence Powell, Ted Briseno. What about the other 21 cops who watched? 16 SOCIALIST ACTION APRIL 1991 and KATHLEEN O'NAN LOS ANGELES—Outrage! That's the generalized sentiment in the Black community here. Anger and disbelief is evident among other working people, too. The March 3 brutal beating of Black motorist Rodney King by at least four L.A. police officers (21 were present along with four California Highway Patrol and two school district cops) has led to worldwide condemnation of the L.A. Police Department (LAPD) and calls for Police Chief Daryl Gates to resign.

King, 25, was arrested on a minor traffic violation (later dropped) and suffered a vicious beating. He sustained fractures of the leg, cheekbone, skull, and eye socket, as well as internal injuries. The only reason his case hasn't been swept under the rug is an accident. An amateur photographer's now famous videotape caught the beating and opened a window into the world of cop violence and racism.

The cops used a stun gun to shock King, and then beat and kicked him so viciously it could have easily led to his death. After the beating, King was left on the side of the road for an ambulance to pick him up. The cops stood around gloating over their great physical effort.

Over the police radio back to the station the cops spoke of playing a good game of "hardball." Nurses at the hospital reported that the cops used racist remarks directed at King. The other cop "onlookers" ignored pleas by residents and others to not "kill him." They assumed that if a complaint was filed, their "word" would be the law (as usual. It was simply a typical day of "work" for the cops.

Paul DuNard, president of the Lynnwood School District teachers union, showed the video to his mostly Black seventh-grade class. Their response: "So what?" The students pointed out that such cop violence happens all the time.

In fact, the day after the video was made public, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Los Angeles received 175 telephone calls recounting similar violent episodes.

Across the country, in virtually every CUN Black community, the sentiment about cops and racism is similar. Cops don't ask you your occupation if you're Black. They assume the worst. Many Latin, Asian, and white workers have suffered similar assaults.

Real face of police The real face of the L.A. Police Dept. (and all police departments) is now visible. So visible that Mayor Tom Bradley, two city councilmen, and other leading politicians have condemned the racist assault, hinting they'd be happy to see Gates go.

The NAACP, the ACLU, and a cross-section of Greater L.A., among others, are demanding the immediate prosecution of the cops and action against Gates. Several protests have been held outside Parker Center, police headquarters.

So far, only four L.A. cops have been charged with the beating. They face maximum sentences ranging from four to seven years. A trial is set to begin May 13. The other cops have not been charged.

And Police Chief Gates has defiantly defended his department and refuses to resign. As a civil servant, Gates can't be fired by the mayor. A pro-Gates organization, Citizens in Support of the Chief of Police, has also been formed.

King and his wife have filed an $83 million claim against the city—$1 million for each of the 56 videotaped baton hits and kicks plus punitive damages. The claim could be raised as more facts come out.

The NAACP is organizing an April 6 march and rally to demand an end to cop violence and the resignation of Gates. The rally will begin at noon at Olympic and Broadway. A rally will take place at the Parker Center at 2 p.m. Speakers include L.A. NAACP President Attorney Joseph Duff, L.A. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and Jesse Jackson. For more information on protest activities, contact the NAACP at (213) 296-2630.

Others who have spoken out against cop brutality include Bill Robertson, secretarytreasurer of the L.A. County Federation of Labor; Local 660 of the Service Employees International Union; the L.A. and San Fernando Valley chapters of the National Organization for Women; the League of United Latin-American Citizens (LULAC);

NOEY MARL 3 L.A. CO. DISTRICT ATTY, NAME KOON, STAR ET L.A. CO. DISTRICT ATTY the L.A. Coalition Against the U.S. Intervention in the Middle East; and Young Koreans United.

Twenty church leaders have also condemned the attack and called for Gates' resignation.

Those defending Gates and the L.A. police department are claiming this beating is not the norm. They've called it an "aberration." California Gov. Pete Wilson and Presidents Reagan and Bush have both praised Gates in the past.

But the beating of King, as the Lynnwood students said, is typical. "When they come up to you, the first thing they think is, you're a drug dealer," Jerome Macon, a 25year-old Black supermarket employee told a reporter. "They see you have a beeper and they smash it. But people are too scared to press the issue. I see it a lot. They make people pull off their socks and shoes and they make you sit in the dirt, faced down, while they frisk you and find out your name. It's crazy."

He and other Black youth say there is no point in reporting harassment to the cops since they'll do nothing, or worse. The LAPD uses an internal investigation department to review complaints against themselves. Not surprisingly, of 172 citizen complaints concerning use of excessive force last year only five were sustained.

Long history of racist violence In 1979, for example, the cops shot Eulia Love in a dispute over her gas bill. In the early 1980s, the LAPD used the chokehold that led to 20 Black suspects dying. Gates explained that "Blacks have smaller windpipes than normal people."

Gates is not unusual in his actions. Other top cops do the same. He's only more arrogant in saying so publicly. "Drug dealers should be shot," says Gates. And, "Gays are evil, gays do evil."

Even Black Los Angeles police officers have faced racist harassment by their fellow cops. "These things go on all the time: monkey hunt, tar buddy, gorillas in the mist," said Janine Bouey, referring to racial epithets used by white police officers.

Cop terror against Blacks and other working people is not new. It is their job to protect the property of the "good citizens," which doesn't include most minorities or workers.

Civilian boards no answer Some here and across the country are now calling for a police review board to oversee Richard Perry/SYGMA CX. 0O. DISTRICY ATT LA. CO. DISTRICT ATTY.

WOME the LAPD. After the King beating, the U.S. Justice Dept. announced that it is reviewing approximately 15,000 allegations of civil rights violations by police that it has received over the last six years. Even Gates has called for a citizens' panel to review "use-of-force" tactics by the cops. He's assigned a senior commander to investigate.

In San Francisco, where a police review board is made up of civilians not affiliated with the cops, the police can still do what they want.

For example, the S.F. review board found the department used unnecessary force against United Farm Workers Union leader Dolores Huerta at a protest where she suffered six broken ribs and a ruptured spleen when police thrust their batons into a crowd of demonstrators. The police chief, Frank Jordan, refused to discipline the police officer involved, arguing that the cop acted as he was trained!

Civilian Review Boards are not the answer. Cops must be brought to justice. The most effective response is the immediate prosecution of all cops commiting violence against Blacks and other workers. Not only the four L.A. cops should go to jail. The 23 "onlookers" should be fired and arrested as well.

Supreme Court coercion ruling The March 26 Supreme Court ruling that allows the use of coerced or involuntary confessions also shows the true face of American justice. That ruling reverses a 1967 court decision that said the use of coerced confessions was illegal and would generally result in the reversal of a conviction.

The cops now have a green light to whip any suspect and force a confession for any "crime" they choose.

Joseph Rauh, a lawyer and civil libertarian, called the Supreme Court ruling a "horror." He said: "When they have five witnesses, they don't beat a prisoner. It's when they don't have the witnesses that you have coercion."

Steven Shaprio of the American Civil Liberties Union added: "Even with a dozen eyewitnesses, you can never, never be sure that the presence of the coerced conviction did not play a pivotal role in the conviction by its emotional impact."

The LA. cops will surely try to take full advantage of this new court ruling. Only through a vigorous public campaign demanding "Justice Now!" will the police pay a price for their criminal activity. And then a blow will be struck against racist violence.