Why did it happen? The officers who brutalized King are no better than the worst criminal I’ve ever put in jail. They failed to see him as a fellow human being. But blame cannot be placed on the department’s training, policies or leadership. It’s not that simple. Our job’s extraordinary demands are no excuse, but they can’t be ignored. There’s more to the story.
Police officers are conditioned by experience to expect the worst in encounters with the public. We’ve seen over and over how seemingly benign situations can result in our own deaths. Last month our fellow officer Tina Kerbrat was killed by a man whom she had planned to ticket for drinking in public. He shot her without warning, point blank in the face. Work on the streets has bred not racism but an understanding that the only people we can truly trust are the ones wearing the same uniform.
The rising crime rate, the decay of school systems, the deterioration of family structures and increasing unemployment have all conspired to make our job so difficult. The social conditions within which we operate are complex. So are the range of emotions each cop experiences daily. We never know what to expect but we all want to see tomorrow.
In King’s case, officers were led on a vehicle pursuit. Refusing to stop, King blasted through red lights. A victimless car chase is a Hollywood myth. In the real world, a citizen or a cop may die. Cops have learned that a person crazy enough to run from the police may have a sinister motive in mind.
Any officer pursuing King that night would have felt: how dare this person put innocent lives in jeopardy? What is he going to try when I catch him? When King’s pursuers finally caught him, the adrenaline rush must have fueled the extremes of terror and anger. Police officers are human; those officers lost control and the beating resembled a feeding frenzy.
What can be said of the officers who appear merely to be watching? Those officers failed to react, despite extensive training. Among cops, peer pressure can be stronger than the duty to intervene.
No one can justify the actions of the officers who participated in the beating or the inaction of the cops who looked on. The officers showed the whole world the darkest side of police work. But they do not represent the thousands of decent cops, or the spirit of the LAPD.
I know that the LAPD deserves support. Listen to the black, brown, yellow and white officers who are proud members of this department, men and women who would recognize and abhor institutionalized racism and brutality if it existed. Listen to the families of officers who have been killed. They will tell you why the slain man or woman was so proud to have been a Los Angeles police officer. Listen to the reasons why, even now in the face of public distrust, we continue risking our lives to protect and serve the people of Los Angeles.
The greatest testament to the LAPD’s integrity is our outrage. If we knew that brutality and racism were systemic, no amount of money would keep us. If we did not feel that the King incident was an aberration, no rhetoric would justify our faith in a department we found morally repugnant. If we did not believe that our leaders could guide us through this ordeal, we would not allow them to remain.
The images of a defenseless man savaged by Los Angeles cops won’t soon fade, nor should they. But this tragedy will make the department stronger. I honestly don’t know how I would have reacted if I had pulled up on the scene that night. But I know now what I will do if it ever happens to me.
