200 +9journo, women, children hurt in rally, 50 L.A. cops disciplined or under invest

[ProfessorMurder]

LAPD accuses 19 of its own officers in May Day melee misconduct
By Rachel Uranga, Staff Writer Article Launched: 07/08/2008 01:31:33 PM PDT
The LAPD has pinpointed 17 officers and two sergeants for misconduct during
last year's May Day march, when police shot rubber bullets and used batons
to clear hundreds of peaceful immigration protestors from MacArthur Park,
injuring more than 200 people, including nine journalists.

Internal affairs investigators examined videos to find officers they could
identify using excessive force against the crowd filled with women and
children. Last month, they delivered the allegations to officers, who have 30
days to respond.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is still
conducting a criminal investigation of 29 officers.
And officers on the ground argue that those in charge escaped punishment.

Shortly after May Day, Bratton demoted the commander in charge that day,
then-Deputy Chief Caylor "Lee" Carter, and reassigned his second in
command, Cmdr. Louis Gray. Carter has since retired.

Bratton also issued a report that put most of the blame squarely on the
department, created a new office to handle crowd control and changed
qualifications to enter the elite Metro Unit, which responded that day. The
unit had long been seen by outside observers as overly aggressive and isolated.

Attorney Carol Sobel, a long-time police critic who is suing the LAPD on behalf
of 190 protesters, said it appears the department was going light on those involved.

"I think more than 17 officers were involved in beating and shooting people,"
she said. "It means they are only charging the officers that they can actually
see hitting people."

In a report released last year, the department stopped short of naming
officers but did single out Carter, Gray and Capt. John Egan for their failure to control the situation.

Though the LAPD has placed blame on poor leadership and communications,
only two of the upper ranks have been punished, including Egan. Scott
Kroeber, then-captain of the Metro Unit, has since been promoted.

"The fact that the only discipline action proposed by the department is at the
police officer and sergeant level raises the question, what is the level of
individual accountability and remediation at higher ranks other than the two
mid-level officers affected immediately after May 1?" said Alan Skobin, a
member of the civilian Police Commission. "This is a question, not a
condemnation. We just want to be sure that every level within the
department is reviewed with the same level of scrutiny."

[Prophet Saddam]

I'm happy to hear that something is finally being done about this.