The watchdog for the Los Angeles Police Commission, as well as LAPD officials, this week largely defended the handling of racial profiling investigations, in response to criticism from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Nicole Bershon, the Police Commission's inspector general, is scheduled to present the civilian oversight panel Tuesday with a lengthy report that evaluates how a newly formed LAPD unit investigates claims of racial profiling against officers. The review follows a warning last month from Justice Department officials to Bershon and the LAPD that both were falling short in addressing racial profiling complaints.
After completing sweeping reforms ordered by federal officials, the LAPD still remains under federal supervision on a handful of issues, including racial profiling, and must persuade the Justice Department that it can adequately police itself before federal scrutiny can be withdrawn.
Within the LAPD, racial profiling is termed "biased policing." Complaints typically occur after a traffic or pedestrian stop, when the officer is accused of targeting a person solely because of his or her race, ethnicity, religious garb or some other form of outward appearance. About 250 complaints are filed each year - a small fraction of the tens of thousands of stops that are made. Nonetheless, the LAPD has struggled to shake a perception of bias, especially among black and Latino men, that stems from past decades of abuse.
Another complication is the difficulty of investigating profiling complaints. For several years, no LAPD officer has been found guilty of a profiling charge. LAPD officials have said it is nearly impossible to determine whether an officer was motivated by bias. Commissioners have pushed them to address the issue more aggressively.
In her report, Bershon generally praised the work of the Constitutional Policing Unit, a team formed this year in the LAPD's Internal Affairs Group to investigate profiling cases.
Bershon has been eager to demonstrate to federal officials that her office can keep close tabs on the investigations. Much of the report focused on the unit's missteps in carrying out investigations, as well as other problems in how supervisors and officers deal with racial profiling.
"We believe that the process of effective civilian oversight by the Commission through the Office of the Inspector General ... is working," Bershon wrote.
Bershon highlighted examples in which investigators failed to press the accused officers enough during interviews. In one case, the investigator did not push the officers to explain what had prompted them to ask a black man during a traffic stop if he belonged to a gang.
Bershon also raised concerns about the treatment of people when they file profiling complaints. Sergeants at police stations, who are responsible for taking complaints, Bershon said, were sometimes rude or tried to dissuade people from filing a complaint. Bershon also argued that in several cases the department's conclusion that the allegations were "unfounded," was misplaced. Instead, the case should have been deemed "not resolved," which indicates there was no way to determine whether the officer had acted appropriately.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck is expected to present a written response to Bershon's report to the commission Tuesday. In it, Beck outlines several internal directives and other efforts that he and members of his command staff have made that, he said, underscores the department's commitment to "constitutional policing." Beck acknowledged the need to improve aspects of profiling investigations and officers' sensitivity to the issue but generally defended the department's handling of racial profiling complaints.
Justice Department officials declined to comment on Bershon's report and the LAPD's response.
