Time and again, the LAPD has given its civilian overseers an incomplete, often distorted picture of police shootings, a Times investigation found. The five-member commission -- made up of lawyers, business people and civic leaders appointed by the mayor -- is supposed to serve as the public's sentinel at police headquarters. Scrutinizing shootings is one of its most important responsibilities, a way to ensure that police who use excessive force do not go undetected or unpunished. Yet as a watchdog, the commission operates with a serious handicap: It has frequently been kept in the dark about important aspects of LAPD shootings. The department's shooting reports routinely omit information that might cause the commission to question whether officers acted properly. Witnesses who told investigators that police fired without provocation have gone unmentioned. Physical evidence that contradicts an officer's claim of self-defense has been left out. The Times studied dozens of shootings, comparing the information presented to the Police Commission with confidential Police Department files, court records and other documents. In at least 28 shootings, 15 of them fatal, the commission ruled that the use of force was "in policy" -- that is, reasonable and justified -- without knowing about evidence that pointed to the opposite conclusion. [more
]- In one case, suspected cocaine dealer Leonard
Robinson's (Pictured above) hands were shot by Officer Jeff Nolte, who,
according to the Police Department, fired "in immediate defense of his
life" after the man apparently pointed a shotgun at him. The commission
cleared the officer. But a different story unfolded when Robinson's
civil rights lawsuit went to trial. The jury, acting on evidence never
seen by the commission, found that Robinson didn't aim a weapon at the
officer and also had his hands in the air trying to surrender.Robinson
collected $2 million in damages this year. [more ]