The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has instituted a campaign of illegal practices and harassment in the Skid Row community of Los Angeles. This enforcement program is known by the euphemism: the Safer City Initiative (SCI). Safety for who?
For over 2 years, WRAP member Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) has documented the systemic police misconduct under SCI that makes Skid Row unsafe for its poor residents. They have written reports, filed complaints, litigated, and testified to police commissions to no avail. At each turn they’ve been met with either official silence or denial. Illegal and unfair practices continue.
LA CAN is now requesting a Department of Justice investigation “to seek civil remedies due to policies and practices that foster a pattern of misconduct by employees of the LAPD’s Central Division.” Specific calls for grassroots support for this investigation are coming soon.
For right now, LA CAN is asking organizations opposed to SCI to sign on to a letter to Congressmember and Chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee Dennis Kucinich to launch an independent investigation of the widespread abuse of poor and homeless individuals taking place in the Skid Row neighborhood. Contact Pete White immediately at 213-228-0024 or PeteW@cangress.org to sign on and help Skid Row set a precedent for poor communities facing police misconduct across the country! Click HERE to see letter.
The Numbers Tell a Damning Story
Skid Row has 13,000 to 15,000 residents, 75 percent of whom are African Americans. After passage of the SCI in the Skid Row area of Downtown LA in 2006, 50 additional uniformed police and dozens of undercover narcotics officers were deployed to the 50-square block area. This has led to an “unprecedented concentration of police resources in a neighborhood with relatively low rates of serious and violent crime.”
During the first year of the SCI: 9000 arrests were made, 64 per 100 residents; 10,342 citations were issued in its first 10 months, between 48 and 69 percent greater than the rest of the city; and African Americans were stopped 4.5 times more often than African Americans citywide.
The Wrong Kind of War on Poverty
“For decades, Skid Row has seen the most extreme and concentrated poverty and racial segregation in Los Angeles. Yet, instead of instituting policies and programs to address racism, poverty and homelessness, a law enforcement strategy to attack the symptoms of extreme poverty was developed and implemented. This expensive and ineffective response to homelessness and poverty has resulted in massive civil and human rights violations against poor and mostly Black people,” states the complaint.
Under SCI enforcement practices, a crosswalk violation is deemed sufficient reason to handcuff someone, place them against the wall, search their person, and run a warrant check. Officers often respond to a single non-violent incident with 10-15 uniformed officers, particularly threatening to the 50 percent of the Skid Row population that suffers from mental illness. Other parts of the city use SMART teams, which are non-uniformed and trained to respond to situations involving people with mental illness. These are not used in Skid Row.
For example, on June 3, 2007, Faith Hernandez – a Black female Skid Row resident – was beaten bloody by 4 officers in front of dozens of witnesses and then arrested for resisting arrest and battery of an officer. She weighs 90 pounds and is mentally ill. The alleged assault happened with an ink pen. Witnesses filed misconduct complaints. Only one witness was initially contacted with no follow up.
In the first year of the SCI, $6 million was spent on the 50 additional police officers in the Skid Row community while only $5.7 million was spent on homeless services citywide. When you look at where SCI monies go, it’s hard not to conclude that the initiative is oriented toward criminalizing poverty and homelessness rather than alleviating it.
Police Misconduct: Patterns and Practices
The stated purpose of SCI is to increase law enforcement resources in order to target serious crime. However, the implementation has resulted in six core patterns and practices that demand investigation:
1. Citizen complaint processes that treat complainants as adversaries
2. Lack of justification by officers on incidents involving the use of force
3. Racial profiling
4. Lack of training of officers
5. Discrimination against people with disabilities
6. Unequal protection in enforcement against drug and alcohol possession
SCI’s Number One Tactic: Racial Profiling
In October 2008, the ACLU of southern California released a detailed report on racial profiling in LA. The report finds “prima facie evidence that African-Americans are over-stopped, over-frisked, over-searched, and over-arrested.”
Civil Wrongs:
• Per 10,000 residents in Central Division, the Black stop rate is 16,455 stops higher than the White stop rate, and the Hispanic stop rate is almost 5,186 stops higher.
• The Black stop rate per 10,000 residents in Central Division is 21,447; more than 2 stops per Black resident and more than 4.5 times the already disparate Black stop rate citywide.
• Per 10,000 residents in Central Division, the Black citation rate is 5,053 citations higher than the White citation rate, and the Hispanic citation rate is almost 3,306 citations higher.
• The Black citation rate per 10,000 residents in Central Division is 8,783; close to 9 citations per 10 Black residents and almost 4 times the already disparate Black citation rate citywide.
• Per 10,000 residents in Central Division, the Black arrest rate is 6,651 arrests higher than the White arrest rate, and the Hispanic arrest rate is 1,000 arrests higher.
• The Black citation rate per 10,000 residents in Central Division is 7,165, or 7 arrests per 10 Black residents and almost 8.5 times the already disparate Black arrest rate citywide.
LA CAN and the Skid Row Community Say No More!
LA CAN staff and volunteers monitor police action and document civil rights abuses. This is a dangerous activity. Three Community Watch members have already been arrested, with charges ranging from “pedestrian in the roadway,” to felony assault (for allegedly twisting an officer’s finger while in handcuffs), to not moving from a sidewalk when asked. All charges were dismissed, but the harassment continues.
More than 35 organizations oppose the SCI and hundreds of residents have filed complaints in various public settings. The only concrete response was a public hearing held by the LA Police Commission to evaluate the initiative and its impacts. At the end of the hearing, commissioners thanked participants and left the room. There has been no further discussion or action by the commission.
This will not do. LA CAN is courageously seeking redress and needs your support!
Click HERE to read the whole complaint.
Check back in a few days for action steps!
