Word: rampart
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...Rampart scandal has tainted the entire department," says Richard Drooyan, former chief assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles and head of a 190-member commission that released a highly critical report on the L.A.P.D. last Thursday. Drooyan's report, ordered by the city's board of police commissioners, found a "fundamental problem of supervision and leadership" in the department. These problems were acute in specialized units like the Rampart anti-gang CRASH (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) unit, which "developed an independent subculture that embodied a 'war on gangs' mentality where the ends justified the means...
...trial itself showed how badly the image of the Los Angeles police has deteriorated. The prosecution was unable to call its star witness, self-confessed corrupt cop Rafael Perez--whose tales of his experiences as a member of the Rampart CRASH unit broke open the scandal a year ago--because of concerns about his credibility. A former girlfriend accused him of three murders, about which he indicated he would plead the Fifth Amendment on the stand. She later recanted, but the prosecution had to fall back on calling known gang members to testify. Yet the jury chose to believe...
...guilty verdict was a bittersweet victory for district attorney Gil Garcetti, whose eight-year tenure was marred by criticism of his handling of the Simpson and Menendez brothers cases and who was seen as being slow to respond to the Rampart scandal. Two weeks ago, Garcetti was defeated in a bid for re-election by Stephen Cooley, who made the Rampart scandal the centerpiece of his campaign. Cooley has said he will set up a new division in the D.A.'s office dedicated to "pursuing anyone who attempts to taint the public justice system. Good cops will welcome a prosecutor...
...while charges of police misconduct continue to be examined by the courts, not much has changed on the streets. In Rampart neighborhoods, where residents still hear gunfire at night and wake up to find bloodstains and flower wreaths on the streets where gang members have been killed, there is little criticism of the police. "Sometimes it gets pretty crazy here," says Greg Taymizyan, owner of El Gallerito food market on 3rd and Rampart. He points down the street to where a shooting took place two days ago. "We need the cops here. Because of a few bad apples, you shouldn...
...citizens of Rampart, and the rest of Los Angeles, hope that someone sorts out that basket soon...