Is Los Angeles police brutality on the rise again?
theGRIO REPORT - The death of 35 year-old mother of two Alesia Thomas, and the brutal arrests of 34-year-old nurse Michelle Jordan, and 20-year-old college student Ronald Weekley, Jr. have refocused national attention on Los Angeles...
Despite what appears to be clear evidence that police officers used excessive force against the twenty year old college student, the LAPD has not yet dropped the criminal charges against Weekley for resisting arrest. That the LAPD maintains these charges against Weekly seems calculated.
Charlie Beck, the Chief of Police recently informed Crump that the investigation into Weekley’s police misconduct allegations would proceed without any input from Weekley himself if Weekley continued to refuse to make himself available for an interview.
According to Crump, Chief Beck’s request that Weekley submit to questioning about the circumstances surrounding his arrest while criminal charges are still pending as a result of that very same arrest raises constitutional questions: if Weekley makes himself available for questioning in connection with the police misconduct investigation, he risks voluntarily relinquishing his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
Crump views the videos of these incidents of police brutality as well as the manner in which these incidents are being handled as part of a pattern of misconduct on the part of the LAPD.
Reggie Roberts, a Los Angeles attorney who is a partner at the downtown Los Angeles law firm, Sanders Roberts, and who has handled police brutality cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants, has a slightly different take. Roberts notes that the LAPD is comprised primarily of upstanding police officers who follow the rules set for them, and do not engage in the sort of police brutality that one sees in these videos. “The police department provides a valuable service to communities in Los Angeles,” Roberts says.
Roberts acknowledges that these sorts of incidents occur, but he does not see a significant uptick in frequency as compared to ten years ago. He attributes media attention on these incidents to the prevalence of smart phones and mobile video-recording technology, which offer a relatively new and important weapon in the fight against police brutality.
Roberts says he viewed the video of Michelle Jordan’s arrest and that it presents a clear case of excessive force and abuse of authority. He notes with some chagrin that her arrest, specifically, may ultimately inure to the benefit of all victims of police brutality. Because Michelle Jordan is a young white woman, that in and of itself has raised awareness of police brutality, which is generally seen as a problem only in the black community.
Najee Ali, a local civil rights activist and spokesman for the Thomas family has been outspoken about police brutality in Southern California and disagrees. He sees these incidents as part of a disturbing trend. “The police have not learned their lesson since the days of Rodney King,” says Ali.
Ali agrees that smart phones and technology have helped shine a light on police brutality, but his concern that these incidents are occurring with increasing frequency is not diminished. Still, he hopes that YouTube and smart phones will lead to increased awareness and, ultimately, a solution.
As for Ben Crump, he hopes that renewed public interest in police brutality in Los Angeles will result in the release of the video in the Thomas case, and ultimately, in justice for Mr. Weekley and Alesia Thomas’s family.
Follow Imani Gandi on Twitter at @angryblacklady.
