INDEPENDENT COMMISSION RECORDS
INDEPENDENT COMMISSION RECORDS
On March 3, 1991, amateur videographer George Holliday captured footage of four LAPD officers brutally beating Black motorist Rodney King at the conclusion of a high-speed pursuit in the San Fernando Valley. Widely shown on television, the scene generated public outrage and widespread concern about the practices and culture of the LAPD, the nation's third largest municipal police force. In response, the mayor and the chief of police of Los Angeles each formed an independent citizens' commission to conduct a full investigation into the LAPD's tactics, policies, practices, and procedures, especially those pertaining to the use of force when making arrests (see 3 below). To avoid overlap the two commissions subsequently merged and formed the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, also referred to as the Christopher Commission.
Chaired by prominent Los Angeles attorney and future U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, the ten-member commission oversaw a three-month investigation that examined many aspects of the law enforcement structure of the LAPD. Over the course of the investigation, commission members were assisted by an experienced staff of more than 60 attorneys from major Los Angeles law firms, all of whom worked strictly on a pro bono basis (see 4 below). One million pages of documentation were reviewed, with special attention drawn to the LAPD's training and recruitment practices, assignment and promotion procedures, internal disciplinary system, citizen's complaint process, and use-of-force guidelines. The team of lawyers consulted LAPD files, interviewed current and former police officers, studied research by academic experts, and gathered testimonies from community members and civic leaders. In July 1991, the commission issued a report that was acutely critical of the LAPD’s policing policies, its attitude toward the use of force, and its tolerance of racism and sexism within its ranks. It also called for the retirement of the department’s chief, Daryl Gates.
