A federal judge Friday lifted the controversial consent decree that for more than eight years had guided an independent monitor overseeing sweeping reforms of the Los Angeles Police Department imposed after the Rampart corruption scandal.
U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess said the LAPD had sufficiently complied in reforming itself to no longer require the oversight of monitor Michael Cherkasky.
In his ruling, Feess cited the monitor's own 2008 report that the "LAPD has become the national and international policing standard for activities that range from audits to handling of the mentally ill to many aspects of training to risk assessment of police officers and more." Chief William Bratton said it marked a triumph for an agency that has "worked so hard over the past eight years to implement the decree and the efforts of both sworn and civilian employees that has resulted in the department reforms that have been recognized as the best practices in policing worldwide."
"As the department has improved," Bratton said in a written statement, "so has our community police relations, and I'm proud of all that you have accomplished and proud to be your chief."
The lifting of the consent decree means the LAPD can now police itself against the internal corruption and abuses that landed it in trouble. The LAPD now audits its internal operations heavily, depending on a $50-million computer system to monitor officer conduct and flag potential abuses.
Feess followed the recommendation made last week by the Office of the Independent Monitor of the LAPD that the city "be found in substantial compliance with the Consent Decree."
But the monitor recommended the consent decree's termination with a catch:
"The process and institutions that have been created must be nurtured and strengthened by the city family in the years to come."
To ensure that, Feess replaced the consent decree with a transitional agreement hammered out by attorneys for the LAPD and the U.S. Department of Justice and proposed to the court last month.
Under the transition agreement, the LAPD will be required to report on its reform progress to the Los Angeles Police Commission, with Feess keeping jurisdiction over the agreement.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which had opposed lifting the decree, said in a statement that despite substantial progress made under Bratton, there remained "too much evidence that skin color makes a difference in who is stopped, questioned and arrested by the LAPD."
"We're disappointed," said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the ACLU.
But the union that represents LAPD officers applauded the judge's decision.
"We are pleased the court has acknowledged the members of the LAPD have risen to the challenge of working persistently to obtain consent decree compliance," Paul M. Weber, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said in a written statement. "Today's ruling demonstrates the LAPD has restored its historic position as the premier municipal law enforcement agency in the nation.
"With the city's financial resources stretched to the limit right now, we hope that the money that is currently being paid to the federal monitor can be made available to the Department to further reduce crime."
The consent decree resulted from the LAPD's Rampart division corruption scandal of the late 1990s, in which officers in the anti-gang unit admitted or were implicated in a wide range of crimes including planting evidence and beating suspects.
Dozens of officers were investigated, at least five were terminated, more than 100 convictions were overturned and the city had to pay out some $125 million in lawsuit settlements.
The decree was approved by the city in 2000 after extensive negotiations with the federal Department of Justice, and then ratified by the court in 2001. It imposed a series of reforms on the department, such as requiring financial disclosure by gang and narcotics officers, banning racial profiling and improved training. The 93-page guideline for reform was imposed to avert a federal lawsuit accusing the LAPD of a pattern of excessive force, false arrests and unreasonable searches and seizures.
The independent monitor has cost Los Angeles taxpayers $2 million a year.
The decree was originally supposed to last five years, but Feess extended it another three years after concluding the department had failed to put into effect several of the major reforms.
Feess was originally due to rule on the decree last month but sought additional assurances from the LAPD that other reforms would be made, such as installing surveillance cameras in patrol cars.
