Associated Press
Facing criticism that its officers too often turn to rough tactics or violence, the Los Angeles Police Department Tuesday said it will revise training for recruits to make sure they know how to step in if one of their own loses control on the job.
The change comes 3 1/2 months after car-theft suspect Stanley Miller, who was clubbed repeatedly with a steel flashlight by an officer after he appeared to surrender following a videotaped car-and-foot chase. Prosecutors are considering whether to file criminal charges against the officers involved .
The training will teach aspiring officers to jump in when a colleague appears to be overreacting or out of control when dealing with a citizen or suspect. The instruction will favor role-playing methods over traditional classroom lectures and note-taking.
An officer’s responsibility to intervene has always been covered in academy training, but it will now be more intensively addressed. Recruits will also be tested on their ability to recognize conditions that require them to step in.
The Police Department must improve “the interaction between our officers with members of the community, both in stressful times and in everyday life,” Chief William Bratton said.
Mayor James Hahn said officers will be taught “to move beyond standing there and watching somebody doing something wrong, to actually preventing and interrupting if something is done improperly.”
Bratton promised a review of tactics after the beating, but officials said new training was being developed prior to the controversy involving Miller, who is black.
Los Angeles has a history of tension between police and the minority community, particularly blacks. The 1992 acquittal of four white police officers accused of beating black motorist Rodney King set off riots that left 55 people dead and caused $1 billion in property damage.