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Report: Nearly 41% of LAPD officers not disciplined for wrongful shootings By City News Service
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early 41% of Los Angeles Police Department officers who shot at people and were found to be in violation of department policy were not disciplined between 2015 and 2020, according to a report scheduled to be reviewed by the Police Commission Tuesday. The LAPD Inspector General Mark Smith reviewed 45 incidents of officers opening fire between 2015 and 2020 that the Board of Police Commissioners found to be out of policy. Sixty-six officers involved in those 45 incidents fired at least one round, with a total of 301 rounds fired, 228 of which were found to be out of policy. According to the report, 27 of the 66 officers found to have violated LAPD rules on shootings by the Police Commission escaped punishment, while 13 were reprimanded, one was fired, four received two-day suspensions, one received a three-day suspension, four received five-day suspensions, two received 10-day suspensions, three received
15-day suspensions, one received a 20-day suspension, four received 22-day suspensions and one received a 55-day suspension. Three cases are still pending. Two officers resigned before their penalty was imposed. An officer can only be fired if approved in a hearing by the department's Board of Rights. Between 2015 and 2020, the LAPD's chiefs -- who were Charlie Beck until 2018 and Michel Moore beginning in 2018 -- directed nine people to the Board of Rights with the recommendation for them to be fired. Of those recommendations, only one person was fired, one accepted a settlement with a 22-day suspension and immediate retirement, four were suspended for 10 to 55 days, and one Board of Rights determination is still pending. Two cases were suspended after the employees resigned. Following the Police Commission's determination that a shooting is out of policy, the chief of police can choose either to have the officers undergo
| Photo courtesy of Sean Lee/Unsplash
"extensive retraining," issue a "notice to correct deficiencies" or launch a personnel complaint investigation, according to the report. All 66 officers were directed to complete extensive retrain-
ing. Personnel complaint investigations were launched for 37 of the 66 officers. The remaining 29 received notice to correct deficiencies, and of those
officers, members of the public initiated complaints against 22 of them. A total of seven of the 66 personnel were not subject to the personnel complaint investigations.
The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners will review the Inspector General's report during its 9:30 a.m. meeting Tuesday. People can watch at https:// bit.ly/37jQsfw.
LA County tenants and landlords eligible to apply for rent relief before March 31 deadline The Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) reminds Los Angeles County tenants and landlords that COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance is available and applications are open through March 31. Recent data from the
Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey estimates that hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles area tenants live in households that are behind on rent but have not applied for assistance. If these households do not receive help, many could lose their housing, worsen-
ing the region’s homelessness crisis. County officials have redoubled their efforts to get the word out about the program before the end of the month. Every eligible applicant seeking assistance for eligible costs submitted and incurred on or before March 31, will be assisted.
Rental assistance helps tenants and landlords avoid the eviction process and makes sure that all rental obligations are paid. Eligible households may receive up to 18 months of assistance to cover rent debt accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic between March
2020 until March 2022. Those in need of rental assistance for unpaid rent and utilities owed from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022, can receive help by visiting housing.ca.gov. For additional information, including eligibility and application help, resi-
dents should call the CA COVID-19 Rent Relief Call Center at (833) 430-2122. Income-eligible applicants may qualify regardless of immigration status and will not be required to show
See Rent relief Page 3