The rise in assaults on officers is viewed with skepticism from opponents of the Safer Cities Initiative. Homeless advocacy group the Los Angeles Community Action Network, or LA CAN, which has criticized the department for what they argue is an unnecessarily aggressive approach to policing mentally ill people on Skid Row, claims that an Oct. 27 officer-involved shooting typified the department's excessive use of force. LAPD officials reject the assertion.
In that incident, two officers approached Benny Allen, 50, at about 12:45 p.m. on Stanford Avenue south of Sixth Street after Allen appeared to take part in a drug transaction, Central Division Capt. Jodi Wakefield said. According to a department statement, Allen walked into the middle of the street after he noticed the officers. After ignoring orders to get out of the street, Allen allegedly charged the officers while waving a knife with a 6-inch blade.
"One of the officers backed away as Allen continued to advance, so [Officer Nathaniel Anderson] fired at Allen, striking him in the torso," the statement said.
Allen was taken to a hospital, and it was later learned that he was a parolee with narcotics and burglary convictions. He was charged with assault against a police officer, which is punishable by up to a year in prison and/or a $2,000 fine.
LA CAN Executive Director Becky Dennison declined to comment for this story, beyond saying that witnesses her organization interviewed described accounts of the incident that conflicted with the LAPD statement. But on a blog post by the organization, the group called the shooting "unprovoked."
"As poor and homeless residents of Skid Row continue to be profiled, harassed, ticketed and arrested at unprecedented rates and the community continues to see occupation-style numbers of officers, it is not surprising that police violence is escalating," the post reads.Central Division officials refute allegations that they use force unnecessarily and say statistics bear out their claim. Through September, Central Division officers had used force 66 times in 11,105 arrests this year, or six times per 1,000 arrests, according to the LAPD. Citywide, the department ratio is slightly higher, at seven uses of force per 1,000 arrests.
Hollywood, with 11,608 arrests, is the only LAPD division with more arrests than Central so far this year and has the same use-of-force ratio as the Downtown Los Angeles division.
Among the 39 assaults on officers this year, 33 resulted in officer injuries, most of which were minor, although two officers suffered broken bones, Vernon said. He added that the attacks ranged from assault with a deadly weapon to spitting on officers - there were four such spitting incidents, which are considered battery. Four of the assault suspects were hospitalized.As with all officer-involved shootings, the Oct. 27 case is under department investigation and will also be reviewed by the district attorney, Vernon said.
