The Glade 4.0

You cited the Christopher commission which was formed as a direct result of the Rodney King incident and the ensuing events, which is what caused me to think that was what you were talking about. The rest of what you're talking about isn't in the public eye, nationally, beyond very incidental mention. On the other hand, Rodney King is still an easily recognized cultural reference anywhere in this country. You're a California resident, and in California, these affairs may be very much more in the public eye, but as to a national reputation for corruption which is more what we're talking about here, I don't see that LAPD really has one.



I will acknowledge that corruption in the LAPD may be worse than I initially imagined since I do n't live in California. However, a cursory investigation of these makes it appear that there was a large degree of sensationalism as well. For example the Rampart scandal apparently initially implicated 70 officers, but only produced sufficient evidence for criminal charges against 24, and internal discipline charges against 58. It's also alarming that a TV series and video games seem to be based on this and while that speaks to the severity of the incident, it also makes me wonder to what degree the reputation LAPD may have is a result of The Shield or GTA rather than the incidents.



Both departments, and indeed both cities and even states in question are far more notable for the constant, ongoing corruption as a way of life than particular spectacular instances, although Illinois's string of governors in federal prison rather prominently speaks to the overall culture of corruption that in turn leads to police corruption. As tot he National Lawyer's Guild, they appear suspiciously similar to the Southern Poverty Law Center and therefore I'd hardly regard the mere fact of a lawsuit by them as evidence of much of anything.

Nonetheless, we have:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-04-13-new-orleans-cops_N.htm

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2011/03/system_of_paid_private_details.html

and of course Danziger Bridge and other incidents in the aftermath of Katrina

as to Chicago there's:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-09-18/news/0909170839_1_police-corruption-police-officers-chicago-police-department
as well as the Ryan Harris incident, Jon Burge, and the Russ/Haggerty shootings, just to name a few.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

Here's a four page listing of articles that CNN covered:
http://articles.cnn.com/keyword/rampart-scandal

That seems more than "very incidental".

Here's what Wiki has to say about Police Corruption:

If the LAPD is specifically mentioned in wiki under the generic heading "Police Corruption", it might be more than just locally known or very incidental nationally.

My guess is that is the heart of the issue: You don't see it.





Yet, you cite USA Today showing something like eight cases, with maybe half a dozen convictions, in NO? The Rampart corruption caused over 100 cases to be thrown out because of police corruption.


Not to mention multiple movies. Once again, goes to perception.


As I said that article only speaks to about eight incidences and 3 convictions.





Really, moonlighting trumps what I've cited for LA as far as public perception of corruption?


Covered in the USA Today Article


So, four officers versus dozens in LA Rampart.



A false arrest, and stuff from 20-40 years ago? I don't get it DE, the stuff you're presenting pale in comparison to what I've shown you (with the exception of the Brissette Madison), or are "timed out" using your initial argument. I wasn't even living in CA when the Rampart news broke, and I don't live there now. If it's all over the media, news and even video games, I think the public probably perceives (rightly or wrongly) that there's significant corruption there. I think it probably just comes down to you not perceiving it DE.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

First of all, there's plenty more there than a false arrest and stuff from 20-40 years ago, so don't front. Second, these departments have reputations for corruption that extend back from decades of misconduct, not 2 prominent incidents involving a few officers 10 and 20 years ago respectively. Individual incidents "time out" but patterns do not.. and as for 20-40 years ago, that particular guy was just convicted last year.

Second, NO and Chicago PDs do not have singular, large corruption cases like this one that are easily cited. This case is, in and of itself, a very large and significant case, but you are conflating it with generalized corruption in the LAPD at large, despite the fact that it implicated only 70 officers, and ultimately only 24 could be criminally charged. On the other hand, NO and Chicago

Third, the problem is not that I don't see it; it's that you do see it. I was originally making a point that there are some large departments with an overall reputation for corruption; the worst of these have that reputation because corruption is a constant there, and not just in the PD, to the degree that it is no longer even newsworthy. You, on the other hand, are trying to claim the LAPD has that reputation because of this one particular issue. This issue came up a decade ago, and despite the lengthy time it has taken to address it, it does not appear to be an ongoing issue now. It pertains primarily to one particular, now-disbanded unit within the department.

In other words, I, not a California resident, don't see it. You on the other hand are a California resident, and do see it. Maybe in California, LAPD does have an overreaching reputation for corruption, but elsewhere I haven't noticed that it does. But that can't possibly be that it's a local issue, no, CNN covered it and people made video games and a TV series so obviously that translates to a general reuptation.

So now, it does not come down to me not seeing it; it comes down to you seeing it and assuming everyone else does. I guarantee most people do not watch The Shield or play GTA and think much about the real LAPD. You're hanging your hat completely on one incident and assuming that the department has a reputation for corruption in general based on that. Maybe it does, but my having not seen it is no less legitimate than you having seen it, and quite frankly, you're making an excellent case that it's heavily the result of sensationalism and yellow journalism regarding one particular issue.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

I'm hanging my hat on well publicized incidents involving dozens of officers as well as the Chief, one of which is still well in the public mind when considering LAPD, as you've stated. You've presented a couple of incidents involving a handful of officers.
Why would I perceive a department as corrupt? I wasn't in CA until well after the corruption scandal I've highlighted here broke and receded (the late 90's and have been out for nearly a year), so I guess the US DOJ having to come in to oversee corruption reforms would be high on my list. It appears that you've spent a greater amount of timer, closer to Chicago than I did in relation to LA. Should I assume your proximity to Chicago is why you view the CPD as corrupt?
More germane to our discussion - public perception - movies, TV series, books, media reports, historical analysis and video games, portray images that create and reflect public views. The LAPD is well represented in that arena, undoubtedly more than most.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

You know what? We obviously have different perspectives on the issue. I don't perceive the LAPD as terribly corrupt, but I think NO and Chicago take the cake. For whatever reason, you see it differently. This is a stupid argument. We're nitpicking over our imaginings about what the public in general thinks about the subjective perception of corruption in these 3 police departments for no reason.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

I agree DE.
For the record, I don't view the LAPD as anything more than baseline big city PD corrupt. Chicago and NO, on the other hand, are way above that line.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko