The Independent Commission Report
The Independent Commission Report
After three months of studying documents, analyzing data, and conducting interviews, the commission concluded its investigation and synthesized its finding into the Report of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department. The report identified several major structural problems within the LAPD that enabled the King incident, problems attributed to the LAPD’s management and administration practices led by Chief Daryl M. Gates. The report also recommended reforms to address the most pernicious issues within the LAPD, which included racism and bias contributing to use of excessive force and a disciplinary system stacked against those who issued complaints. Many of the corrective actions proposed in the report echoed suggestions the commission heard in community hearings and received from community organizations: that officer training integrate cultural awareness and sensitivity instruction and that a community-based policing model be adopted.
The Los Angeles Times reported that minority communities applauded the commission's findings for confirming “longstanding allegations of discrimination, harassment and brutality,” Yet the Times also noted a certain skepticism about whether the actions recommended by the commission, namely the call for Chief Gates to remain in his position until a successor could be found, would in fact lead to any substantive and lasting change. "[W]hatever becomes of Gates," one community member conveyed to the reporter, "racist police practices will endure.”
