KTLA News: "LAPD spokesman William Booth discusses investigation..." (1980)

decisions that are made through the review and adjudication processes. the use of force review board. The final decisions and ultimate decisions in the adjudication of the matter made by the chief of police will most certainly take into consideration the entire investigation and all of the information developed in the investigation and the results of the coroner's findings become a very very important part of that investigation and a very very important uh aspect of consideration of the final adjudication. Wait a minute. You're not going. Commander Booth. Um, first of all, I want to ask you about Mr. Naguchi's news conference yesterday wherein he indicates that the examination of the body of Larry Morris shows that there was a mark on the front of the neck that may very well have been caused by steady pressure with an instrument, possibly a police baton. Do you want to react to Mr. Goi's comments. >> Well, the results of the autopsy uh including the preliminary results perhaps more importantly the final results of the autopsy depending upon the seriousness of them of those findings. They're always gerine, but all of the findings by the uh by the coroner will be incorporated into the investigation by the department, I'm certain by the district attorney. And the suggest that at this time that any of the information is viewed as being necessarily inconsistent with uh uh the other aspects of the investigation to date. Is it the position though of the police department that the officers involved did not apply a choke hold with a baton on Mary Morris's throat? It's the has been the preliminary uh findings which was in the initial press release which is that is released as soon as the preliminary investigation is completed just as soon as it possibly can be completed. that uh the officers have uh have stated in in that investigation that they did attempt they heard gunfire. They stopped to investigate. In the course of that investigation, they saw a person running away from it. So, they pursued uh up to the uh the apartment. The altercation commenced by one of the officers being struck as soon as they entered into the apartment. >> May I ask you something about that? When the officer was struck, as it says in your press release, did he still have his weapon drawn, his revolver? >> I don't believe that that is very it is absolutely necessary. I think the law requires the law that requires due process is that all of the facts be known. All of the facts that can possibly be gathered be known and then the adjudication process takes uh takes effect. That's historically the way it works. That's the way it should work here. Whatever those facts are, they those facts will be the ultimate foundation or the foundation for the ultimate adjudication decisions that are made by the staff of the department and and by the chief of police. You would agree, however, that there are those in this city and as a matter of fact in other parts of the country who are saying historically the way it works, that is these kinds of investigations that it's just not fair that it is the police department investigating itself and all that that >> Well, we we we know that uh whoever is saying that really is not looking objectively at the process here. Um the district attorney is well known conducts independent investigations that's taken place here. I think it's well known that the police commissioner reviews every one of these cases. Um there it's not a matter of the police investigating themselves. Uh it's a matter of there needs to be a policy which we have. It needs to be a very uh tight policy which we have and that shootings need to be reviewed not only in the context of do they violate the law and should they be prosecuted. They need to be evaluated in light of uh regardless of whether or not a law was violated uh was it appropriate and that's precisely what takes place. uh the uh the penalties that uh uh the potential penalties that face any officer involved in a number of things including shootings and including the use of force are not just restricted to are they prosecutable. They uh it also includes can is are their jobs in jeopardy because of that action regardless of whether it's prosecutable or not. >> Commander, if All right. So, both things are done. That's the Both things are done. And I do believe that the history of the actions of the department uh will will refute any allegations that they're not done fairly, objectively, properly, and within the law. >> Commander, this this adjudication process you've been talking about, would that be in any way affected uh if if toxological studies show that there was PCP in Mr. Morris's body? that becomes a factor of consideration. Uh it something in the bloodstream is not the sole factor of determination in these adjudications. The adjudication is based on the s on the totality of of the incident on all of the relevant factors and all of the relev relevant factors aren't in until the investigation is complete. The coroner's findings are part of those relative factors. Would that take some of the quote heat off the department? >> I don't quite follow >> the controversy over shootings there. Uh officer involved shootings. Some civic organizations are saying that PCP use uh constitutes uh use of a deadly weapon by certain individuals uh that requires debut force from officers. >> Well, we certainly don't say that. I think it's well known that there has been a lot of effort by officers themselves to develop and by the department to develop uh non-lethal means of taking violent people into custody and particularly those who seemingly are impervious to pain who are totally unpredictable in their irrational behavior and who seem to be extremely strong. Uh we've we have uh some positive signs that some of these developments by officers, the leg grabbers, they've been used several times. The taser has been used several times. Taser is not always successful, but we continue to use it. All of these are attempts to take violent people into custody with without causing them any any harm. >> Do you have any indications that one of those other methods might have been a better way to handle Larry Mor? I have no indication that that is a fact or or not a fact. Now that is another thing when these cases are reviewed a whole host of things are given consideration. One is tactics. Would there could there have been a better way to have attempted to accomplish it? It would seem to me that having seen the leg grabber, for instance, and I think you have too, that in the tight confines of a of a bathroom, the a leg grabber simply wouldn't be something that you could you could work with. But tactics are always a consideration in these reviews. Okay.