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2 New Reports Find LAPD Mishandled Aspects Of Summer Protests

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Two reports released Friday found the Los Angeles Police Department mishandled aspects of last summer's protests against racism and police brutality, echoing the findings of a report released last month.

Hundreds protest the killing of George Floyd
Los Angeles, CA, Tuesday, June 2, 2020 - Dozens of protesters are arrested for curfew violations on Broadway, near 5th after a long day of protesting the homicide of George Floyd. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The reports, commissioned by the L.A. City Council and the L.A. Board of Police Commissioners, were conducted by the National Police Foundation and LAPD.

The foundation, which bills itself as an independent, nonpartisan research foundation that conducts research into police behavior, policy and procedure held listening sessions with the public to help assess LAPD's response to the May and June protests.

The report found a number of deficiencies, including:

  • the department's crowd management practices "were inadequate to handle the disparate groups or to identify leaders among the protesters and address the level of violence;"
  • the documentation of use of force was inconsistent;
  • some LAPD personnel lacked necessary training on crowd management, mobile field force, supervision, deescalation or less-lethal launchers;
  • the department lacks a policy to direct its "response specifically to large-scale, fluid, city-wide civil unrest that turns violent or contains violence;"
  • communication was inconsistent between Chief Michel Moore, command staff, bureau commanders, field supervisors and line officers; and
  • officer morale has been described as "at an all-time low."

The second report, conducted by the LAPD, found inadequacies in command and control training, communication, response to new tactics, mass arrests and record keeping.

"The department must be open to new ways of thinking about crowds," the report said. "The department must consider whether control is the best option, and what new technologies can be used in times of civil unrest."

The department's recommendations included the establishment of a Department Operations Center when a citywide event occurs.

The report also alleged that protests crowds were violent and hostile toward officers.

The Board of Police Commissioners Tuesday will review all three reports.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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