The Los Angeles Police commission is considering significant changes in the way the L.A. Police Department handles shootings by officers.
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Commission is considering significant changes in the way the L.A. Police Department handles shootings by officers, including releasing information to the public more quickly and expanding training to reduce the number of shootings.
The proposals, which the civilian panel will consider next week, include seeking public opinion on releasing videos from those shootings, ensuring the LAPD provides accurate information about the incidents and adding more role-playing scenarios to help officers practice defusing tense encounters without firing their guns.
The proposals come after the commission’s inspector general completed an extensive study, made public Friday, looking at how other major departments deal with police shootings. The report found that some provide the public with more details faster and have embraced training based on real-world scenarios. Most scrutinized issues
How officers use force and how departments share information about deadly encounters are two of the most scrutinized issues in modern-day policing, drawing fresh attention this summer after a series of deadly police shootings across the country.
Many law enforcement agencies have traditionally resisted releasing video evidence — including footage from cameras worn by officers or in their patrol cars — while investigations are underway. But in recent months, police in Fresno, Calif., El Cajon, Calif., and Charlotte, N.C., bowed to pressure and made videos of shootings public.
The LAPD followed suit this week after the controversial shooting of Carnell Snell Jr. prompted protests that stretched from South L. A. to the mayor’ s Windsor Square home. In an unprecedented move, the LAP Dr eleased security video showing the 18- year-old holding a gun moments before he was fatally shot.
Friday’s recommendations from two police commissioners — Sandra Figueroa-Villa and Matt Johnson—come as the civilian board has been pushing the department to be more transparent and to find ways to minimize officers’ use of deadly force.
“We must constantly re-evaluate what we are doing and be willing to be self-critical so that we are always moving forward ,” said Johnson, the board’s president. “These recommendations represent the desire to improve.”
The report and its proposals have long been in the works. Last fall, the Police Commission directed its inspector general, Alex Bustamante, to compare the LAPD’s policies, training and investigations regarding use of force with four other major agencies that have recently made changes to try to reduce force incidents.
Eleven months later, the result was a 33-page analysis also looking at how police in L.A., Dallas, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., and San Diego address officers who fire their weapons, emphasize ways officers can try to avoid using force, and share information — including video — with the public.
The report notes that the information the LAPD initially provides about police shootings is “generally limited” to the basics: the condition of the person shot, the time and location of the shooting, why the officers were in the area and whether any weapons were found. It is not unusual for the department to take weeks before releasing the names of officers who fire their weapons. Vegas acts quickly
Police in Las Vegas, however, quickly post short video statements about shootings on YouTube. About 48 hours later, the department releases the name, rank, age and length of tenure of the officers involved. Within the week, police give reporters an in-depth briefing that includes what happened in the moments before a shooting, photographs from the scene and audio from 911 calls. They also release any video collected, including recordings from body cameras worn by officers.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck generally has resisted releasing those videos outside of court, citing concerns over victim privacy and the need to protect investigations. He made a rare exception in Snell’s shooting, citing concerns over public safety and his desire to clear up what he called “significant misinformation” in the case.