KTLA News: "Community leaders address the Los Angeles Police Commission..." (1979)

Clearly, you have a right to bring the complaint to the commission's attention. Initially, the commission's responsibility is one of supervision. you bring the complaint to us and we will make sure that it's investigated. In order to do that, it will be necessary for uh the persons making the complaint and the witnesses to the complaint to talk to people other than police commission. That's how we get our information. It is impossible to adjudicate this matter in a hearing because all of the parties are not here. We would be conducting a trial. Um, and even if we were to conduct a trial, we would want to do some investigatory work other than uh just taking the testimony of witnesses here in this proceeding. That's my husband, his family. We have other ideas, but we'd much rather do it locally here. So, you said you can't do it, you can't do it. something cannot sit in a public conduct hearings in every case of complaints the police but that would not be an orderly way to investigate these cases. Uh the way to investigate cases is to take statements from the witnesses, have cases investigated and go through the investigative process. But if you're not satisfied with this, what we've tried that, Mr. Reinhardt, I don't mean no harm. I appreciate what you're saying, but we've tried this stuff for years. It doesn't work. That's the only reason I'm back in here now. It doesn't work. Internal vision is not going to investigate properly. This is why I'm here now. That's what you said doesn't work. Now, where do we go from here? We're not going internal business. That's dead. And you said that. Now, where do we go from here? That that's the tr that's been our trouble in our community all the time. We have nowhere to go to with nobody we can trust. Are you saying that you will advise consequently and anyone else that has a complaint about police malpractice not to talk to any members of this department other than police commissioners? This is what I told them to do because we have problems out of internal business affairs. That's exact. And not only me, my whole committee feels that way. Mr. Mr. Williams, it's because of our pri the prior record of internal business pass. I agree with Commissioner Reinhardt that if you were advising people who have complaints about police malpractice not to talk to anyone but police commissioners. It is impossible for the commission to in any way adjudicate any of these complaints. um have come over the years and we have said to those people take it to the police department and make your complaint and there's been very little satisfaction. We're now saying we're bringing we're advising them instead to come directly to this commission and asking the commission to create a responsible way of investigating those cases so that we the public can begin to recognize where the problems are. >> We believe we have a good procedure and what I'm asking you to give us an opportunity to allow this new procedure to work. If it doesn't work uh and we don't resolve the kinds of problems that uh that um some people believe exist then we'll talk about it that time but give us a chance to make it work. >> You want them to hear Mrs. Pony this afternoon. We have the >> I don't think that I don't think that is that is appropriate. abused in varying degrees, in some cases physical injuries. So, it's a reprehensible sort of illustration that makes us think we live in Hitler's Germany uh rather than in the United States of America. Will you then uh take this matter and this illustration and will you at the same moment see to it that the police will not harass this family as they try? They are newcomers to this matter. They they are not used to appearing before a commission. They are not used to dealing with the police in any fashion. Will you see to it that they are in a sense um you know >> in such a fashion that they can get their story out to you without harassment and without fear of harassment. >> Not only with respect to deliberately we're prepared to let this be one of our test cases. We're not going to say we will forget the past because that past is in too many people's memories too vivid, but we're say we're prepared to follow this illustration. And let's see what happens. And let's see whether or not we can proceed in such a fashion that for the most part we in the community and the police department and you are satisfied that we have gotten to a measure of truth that helps to correct Now part two of the love report uh numerous statements in the league letter are to put it kindly inaccurate. >> The uh Ponty case uh we received the case of the Ponty family shortly after the incident occurred which we referred to Reverend Merryweather. Um, since the inception of Kappa, we've been trying to work within the system to try to get some alleviation of the police repression that's coming down in our community on a day-to-day basis and only to find that um some of these government officials are in collusion with the police on police crimes. So therefore uh we will not be recommending any cases to internal affairs in the future because of the past history with internal affairs where we brought people down, they've been arrested in terms of trying to file a complaint. So we're going to set up a system where we will be screening complaints, running them through Reverend Merryweather and bringing them directly to this commission. If this commission gives the appearance that they're an independent review board, I think that it's time to let the people know that and it's also time to let the people know if they do not have the capacity to work in that area, then let the people know that so the people can act accordingly and set up go about the business of setting up an independent review board on their own which I think they have the capability to do. Uh I don't want to before we >> do you remember the witnesses I had in here? Eight witnesses. >> I had eight two weeks ago. Every one of them been picked up, but the two girls is the reason I guess she wasn't picked up because she was pregnant. Every one of those boys were picked up. This is what we are led to understand. The six of the eight have been have been now arrested on suspicion. >> Suspicious of burgers, suspicious of this, and suspicious of that. And they They came here first. >> I brought them right here to take the case. That's why they want internal vision fast to to go up there. Every time ever since we've been going internal business, this same kind of junk happened. This is why we'll never go to them no more. We'll never take a case. This time here not going internal business. So because every time, even before this time is around, I got proof because I brought a mini case down here to the police commission. I got witnesses in here. Even in the police commission was said and we would take them try to be nice try to go along with the crooked system rotten system go upstairs internal division affairs come back and program first thing they do they program the witnesses and tell them that I don't I guarantee I got a choke job before then I heard this so we decided not to go there turn the business we come back last week again so maybe they going to do better since we got another chief last week I brought Mr. president I called to talk to some of the young men about the case about internal division pass investigate and he would be locked up. I bring the name for this act and this is nothing new. This is the kind of mess we've been having in our community for years and we're not going to put up with it no more. We're not going to lie. I'll bring the names to you. >> I wish you would. >> I'm going to bring them but when you do something >> why don't you bring the names before you begin talking about it? That might be a question. Why don't you do that first? >> Why don't you bring the names instead of bringing the issue up? >> Will you do something about it? >> I don't understand why you don't bring the names. >> Do do something about what? I don't even know what it's about. >> Well, >> you make an accusation. You both make an accusation. You provide no evidence. This has happened in this commission before. You have made accusations that you have not come back and provided information on. Now, >> I have writing you. You sit there and said everything. I bought a lot of stuff on myself that lie before I went to court. >> Are you not in court? >> You told that. >> Are you not in court? >> You told that before I went to court. >> Are you not in court before I went to court? >> Are you in the crime that we want to see fought in the black community? Instead, they we're saying to this commission that the U love case represents only one of citizens whose welfare are being brutalized on the other side helping us to stop those areas of criminality criminality that we'd like to see stopped. Can I say something? >> That was written by a lady by the name of Miss Py who claimed that she had been her whole family had been beaten uh by the police. And I have here affidavit of each one of the the person who were attacked. Also, we brought in a couple of witnesses and I would rather for her to come and explain it to you if I'm alive to herself because I wasn't there and may I say it's Mr. heart. Uh, from now on, when they come to me, I'm going to bring them to you. If they come to me with witnesses, I'm not bringing everybody that come because some of them I'll be honest, I wouldn't bring. But there are some people I believe like I did Michael uh Preston. I believe him and I believe this lady and that's the reason I brought the family down because if you don't do it, they said bring the people. bring them. >> Uh there are many many complaints as you very well know of police misconduct under the system for investigating and determining those cases. The commission can review those matters when there is dissatisfaction with the outcome of the process. But the initial review, investigation and determination have to be made as that will resolve