Proposed Posting of 'Use of Force'

LOS ANGELES -- Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is expected to ask the Police Commission to adopt a policy today that would allow for greater transparency during investigations on use of force by the LAPD.

The commission is set to decide today whether to allow the Inspector General's office to release public documents providing a summary and the commission's decision for each use-of-force incident.

The measure is being considered to help bolster the LAPD's standing as a June deadline looms to meet a federal consent decree that was ordered as part of a 2001 settlement with the Justice Department following the Rampart corruption scandal, involving anti-gang officers who beat and framed suspects.

The LAPD must speed up investigations of officer-involved shootings and use-of force incidents, Independent monitor Mike Cherkasky told the Police Commission and the City Council's Public Safety Committee last week.

Under the proposed plan, one of the police commissioners would review the summary for accuracy and to make sure it does not reveal personal information on an officer or police tactical procedures, according to a report by Richard Tefank, executive director of the Police Commission.

The document would then be available for public review and posted on the commission's Web site.

If approved, the Inspector General's office will begin preparing the public use-of-force documents on Jan. 1, providing a synopsis of events, findings, and observations regarding relevant training and policy issues, according to Tefank's report.

The Police Commission signed off last month on measures intended to speed up internal investigations of police shootings and use-of-force incidents. The approved new measures include the purchase of digital voice recorders, allowing civilian employees to take on some of the workload, and changing investigation procedures when interviewing accused officers.

The panel agreed, however, that even more could be done to conduct swift and thorough investigations into use-of-force incidents.

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