Why doesn’t transparency apply to Internal Affairs?
Chief Beck apologized to the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 4 for failing to disclose that a recent officer-involved shooting press release did not contain the fact that the suspect was handcuffed when the shooting occurred. (See http:// www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/ la-le-1104-sunday-charlie-becklapd- 20121105,0,2487850.story.) “The LAPD prides itself on having the most exhaustive and transparent use-of-force investigations in the nation, and it is my intention to make that part of my legacy to this department,” the Chief said, in his letter to the Times that admitted the Times was right and the Department was wrong.
You will hear the Police Commission also frequently comment on the desirability of the transparency of the new LAPD. Transparency seems to apply to everyone but Internal Affairs.
The League has filed several lawsuits over the treatment of officers accused of misconduct in the disciplinary process. One of the lawsuits was aimed at getting a court to issue an injunction against the Department for, among other things, refusing to provide discovery to officers going to Boards of Rights and Administrative Hearings. At about the same time Chief Beck was writing his letter to the Times, a judge dismissed the League’s lawsuit, stating that individual officers had to file an action independently so that their issues could be decided on a case-by-case basis. The League was trying to avoid multiple lawsuits, but that is not to be. So much for trying to be efficient.
It is ironic that transparency is owed to the Los Angeles Times, but not to accused officers trying to defend themselves. The whole idea of transparency is to foster a sense of trust by operating in the light. Operating in the light gives assurance that there is nothing to hide. On the other hand, hiding reports and evidence fosters suspicion and distrust.
Officers who have to confront suspects on a daily basis need to trust management. They need to know that if they are accused of misconduct, they will have a fair and unbiased process that will allow them to defend themselves.
The League will continue fighting on all fronts to try and make the process fair. Sure, officers sometimes need to be disciplined and sometimes engage in conduct that all would agree needs to be addressed with punishment, including termination. But proper discipline can be accomplished within a fair disciplinary process. Evidence and reports can be shared with the accused officer if the investigation and adjudication are fair.
When they aren’t only the Department benefits from hiding the ball. And the assumption of the officers will be that when the ball is hid, the Department has cheated. That is not an assumption that is good for the organization.
The dismissal of the aforementioned lawsuit requiring each officer to sue individually will be costly, both for the League and for the City. But Internal Affairs management does not have to worry. Deputy city attorneys have to do the work, and if they lose, the money comes out of the general city budget, not the Department’s budget. There is no practical downside to doing pretty much anything you want.
Lawsuits are not the answer. They are a last-resort response. And the League is at the last resort. Talking has been fruitless. Discovery continues to be denied. Officers continue to be denied representation. Boards and Hearings continue to be improperly influenced.
It would seem that Los Angeles police officers deserve to be treated at least as well as the Los Angeles Times. After all, without the officers on the street confronting suspects neither the Times nor the Department will survive.
If transparency is good, why isn’t it good for everyone? What is there to hide? Why can’t an officer have a rep? What is there to fear from a fair hearing?
Based on this ruling on the dismissed lawsuit, many more lawsuits will have to be filed. The remaining lawsuits that have been filed will continue on and even if every one of them is dismissed because the judiciary does not want to run LAPD, the League will continue the fight for fair treatment of officers on all remaining fronts. The League hopes that someone somewhere in management will wake up and smell the coffee. The officers need to feel that they have the support of management. Do they?
Be legally careful out there.
