LOS ANGELES, Posted 10:39 a.m. PST December 27, 1999 --
Recent attention directed at the Los Angeles Police Department has been focused on a corruption scandal at its Rampart station. Now, more trouble has surfaced for the LAPD. Today, The Los Angeles Times
reports the police department ignored brutality allegations at another station in 1995.
According to the newspaper, court records show a 15-year-old was smacked in the mouth with a shotgun butt in one incident and his father was suffocated until he passed out and ended up at a hospital.
A second 1995 case involved allegations that anti-gang officers beat a man they accused of tossing a bottle at their police car.
Family members say they complained to the police about the alleged misconduct but despite the allegations, the LAPD did not conduct investigations into either incident.
The latest information released by The Times coincides with the scandal around the police department's Rampart Division, where a dozen officers have been relieved of duty and are under investigation amid allegations of framing suspects and falsifying evidence. The scandal focuses on officers attached to the LAPD'S anti-gang unit known as Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH).
The LAPD's Internal Affairs is now notified of all complaints against officers, but a news wire says that a smaller percentage than before are actually investigated because of time constraints.
LAPD Abuse Claims Surface At 2nd Station
Report Says LAPD Ignored Brutality Allegations In 1995
Officers from the 77th Street Station are alleged to have brutalized two families, cases that cost taxpayers a half-million dollars to settle, The Times reported. 