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Los Angeles Daily News LAPD beating probe narrows By James Nash Staff Writer Thursday, July 08, 2004 - Four Los Angeles police officers, including one seen on videotape striking car-theft suspect Stanley Miller, are under investigation for using force against the 36-year-old Compton man during a widely publicized June 23 arrest, Police Chief William Bratton said Thursday. Bratton's disclosure came at the onset of a series of 24 dialogues around Los Angeles and neighboring cities to discuss community reactions to the beating of Miller, which has prompted parallels to the notorious 1991 arrest of motorist Rodney King. In footage of the June 23 arrest of Miller near Compton Wash, LAPD Officer John Hatfield is seen striking the man 11 times with a flashlight after he appeared to surrender. The same footage shows Officer Peter Bueno appearing to strike Miller in the gut with his knee. Before that, two LAPD officers -- later identified as Phillip Watson and David Hale -- are shown wrestling Miller to the ground at the end of a car chase that began in South Los Angeles before dawn. In all, eight LAPD officers, including a sergeant, responded to the scene. "As the investigation moves forward, we'll try to determine why the officers were taking the actions they were," Bratton said. "It's a complex investigation." Bratton and Andre Birotte, the Los Angeles Police Commission's civilian watchdog, said the actions of all eight officers in the June 23 incident remain under investigation as part of a review expected to be completed by August. Bratton, Birotte and a number of city officials, including Mayor James Hahn, spoke Thursday at a daylong series of forums from San Pedro to North Hills. Area politicians called for the "Day of Dialogue" to provide an outlet for emotions laid bare by the televised beating of Miller, who is African-American, by Latino officer Hatfield. During workshops in Watts and North Hills, young black and Latino men recounted incidents where LAPD officers treated them differently because, they said, they fit the stereotype of gang members and criminals. Both forums erupted into arguments over racial relations. At the Watts event, about 10 people walked out after a moderator asked them to tone down their statements. "What I had to do was leave," said Susan Burton of Watts, who had complained of police abuse of black youths. "Don't invite me to speak somewhere and then tell me to say what you want to hear." The North Hills forum also probed sensitive issues of race and policing. North Hills resident Ron Daniels, who is African-American, drew the ire of the five LAPD officers at the forum by saying racism is embedded in the culture of the police department. Afterward, Daniels said forums like the Day of Dialogue acknowledge the LAPD's willingness to at least discuss racial issues. "They've gone from a code of silence into a state of denial. I guess that's progress," he said ruefully. At the same forum, white North Hollywood resident Stella Leigh said Daniels' mistrust of the police isn't shared by everyone. "When I see a policeman, I feel safe," she said. "I don't think I'm going to be attacked or anything like that." Gilbert Bautista, a gang-intervention supervisor and Chicano studies teacher, said the LAPD has moved far from the Rodney King era. Forums like the two-hour discussion at the Communities in Schools office -- which drew about 30 people -- didn't happen in those days, Bautista said. "Ten years ago, would we have this kind of meeting in a community organization? No." News Topics | Home | Research | History | Blood Gangs | Crip Gangs | People| Life in a Gang | Gallery | Iraqi Cards | Memorial | Migration | Graffiti | Resume| Injunctions Homicides | Maps | California Prisons | Contact

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