Ethics, Force and Discipline

Peak, Chp. 10

\Riots\Cincinnati riot.wmv \OCSD\Ex-deputy gets a break.wmv ...\King beating.wmv \use of force\arrest struggle.wmv \Police pursuit\Orl PD chase pol.wmv ...\School ofcr punches.wmv...LASD drops,IPD takes.wmv ...\NOPD ofcrs beat,fired.wmv...Van Nuys pursuit.wmv \Police pursuit\Pursuit officers hurt.wmv ...Innocent hurt in pursuit.wmv ...Two deadly chases.wmv...crazy Euro chase.wmv \use of force\sbso shooting Pt II.wmv\Use of force\Baton Rouge PD accused.wmv ...\Chased, fights ofcrs.wmv...Pepperballs end chase.wmv \pursuit,shooting.wmv

Ethics

• Should any category of citizen get special treatment?

• If so, what citizens? What kind of treatment?

• If not, why not?

• What consequences can result from an appearance of bias or impropriety?

• How can such consequences be avoided?

Absolutism

Categorical imperative (Immanuel Kant)– Universality of decisions – same acts

would be taken regardless of circumstances– Human beings are not just means to an end

Other tests– Is one acting from a sense of duty?– Is an act motivated or affected by self-interest?– Is the decision based on underlying principles or

on personal preferences?Difficulties?Difficulties?

Absolutism – the difficulties

In this world, consequences of an act are important

Pressures and expectations on police Severely limit police practices and

techniques– Lying and deception– Undercover

Utilitarianism(moral relativism)

Concerned with consequencesof an act

Utility (“greatest happiness”)to all concerned– Calculus of costs and benefits– Short-term (act)– Long term (rule)

John Stuart Mill

Jeremy Bentham

Difficulties?Difficulties?

Utilitarianism - difficulties

Predicting consequences Calculating cost and benefits Individual rights may be overlooked No moral compass

Misconduct and Corruption

Causes of misconduct

Pressures to produce– Citizen and agency expectations– Personal goals– Limited resources: the means/ends dilemma

Officer selection– Personalities drawn into policing– Weeding out unsuitable candidates

Police culture– Peer pressures “code of silence”– Solidarity - “us” v. “them” mentality

Page 14: “While it is impossible to substantiate completely, itappears that the application of our hiring standards was compromisedwhen these officers were hired during periods of accelerated hiringin the late 1980s and early 1990s. This is not to say that anyoneintended to do so. But, one need only look at the pre-employmenthistories of these four people to see that something was seriouslywrong when they were approved for hire. The fact that these menwere hired with egregious information in their packages leaves only two explanations: 1) Recognize that erosion has occurred and shore up the systems to prevent it from recurring; or, 2) Insist that the application of our standards did not erode, which means that criminal conduct, drug dealing, financial irresponsibility and violent behavior are consistent with our standards. Clearly, there has been erosion, the blame for which cannot be placed on one individual or group, but rather on a multifaceted system with competing interests. We must recognize that it has occurred and commit ourselves to never sacrificing quality for the expediency of numbers.”

LAPD Board of Inquiry Report into the Rampart Area Corruption Incident March 1, 2000

Page 9: Of the 14 officers, four had questionable issues in their pre-employment background which strongly indicate they never should have been hired as Los Angeles Police Officers. Those four officers were hired in 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1994, and three of them have since been fired for felonious conduct:

It is important to note that the July 9, 1991, Report of the Independent (Christopher) Commission...all but predicted that a weak application of hiring standards was allowing risky candidates to become Los Angeles Police Officers.

The officer hired in 1994 sold marijuana to two other students on one occasion while he was in high school. At age 15, the police detained him for investigation of tampering with vehicles on a car sales lot. He was taken to the station and released to his parents. Those law enforcement contacts were self-admitted and nothing on his criminal history printout indicates that he was ever formally arrested. However, there is a notation in the package that “All records have been sealed” indicating that he may have had a juvenile record that could not be accessed for the background investigation. In any event, the Police Department recommended his disqualification, but it was overturned by the Personnel Department.

The officer hired in 1990 had been arrested three times before he became an officer at the age of 24. As a juvenile, he was arrested for stealing hubcaps. As an adult, he was arrested and convicted of driving under the influence (DUI). One year before his hire, he was cited for having an open container of an alcoholic beverage in his car and was arrested for driving on a suspended license (suspended from the earlier DUI) for which he was sentenced to ten days in jail. In the military, he was disciplined for disobeying a lawful order. His background investigation disclosed that he "loses his cool very easily“ over minor incidents, and acted like a "big macho man." The psychological examiner advised the Personnel Department that there was not enough negative information to warrant his disqualification.”

The officer hired in 1988 had been arrested as an adult for grand theft. The incident occurred when he struck a public bus driver during a dispute over a transfer. When the driver's watch fell to the ground, the officer picked it up and began walking away, which resulted in his arrest. The Department did not recommended his disqualification or deselect him under three whole scores.

The officer hired in 1989 admitted losing his temper during arguments with his wife and pushing her on six different occasions. He was psychologically eliminated due to "temperament/impulse control." However, he was eventually cleared for hiring by the Personnel Department psychologist.

...on the other hand

On 2/9/06 a Federal court jury awarded$5 million each to LAPD Sgt. Edward Ortiz,former officer Paul Harper and former Sgt.Brian Liddy, who were fired in 2000 andtried for allegedly framing a suspect while working at Rampart.

After being acquitted or having their cases dismissed, each sued the City for malicious prosecution. They accused prosecutors, detectives and former Chief Parks of making them “scapegoats” by suborning false testimony from officer Rafael Perez, who informed on his colleagues in exchange for a greatly reduced sentence for stealing three kilograms of cocaine from evidence.

Ortiz and Liddy have been on unpaid leave. Liddy now faces being fired for other alleged misconduct in 1999. Harper was cleared of all charges years ago and is back on the force.

but on the OTHERhand...

On February 28, 2005 19 persons,including five former cops, were chargedfor twenty robberies between 1999-2001.

Led by LAPD officer Ruben Palomares,the group LAPD uniforms & cars to stagephony raids, stealing drugs, guns and money from drug dealers and others.

Those charged include former LAPD officers William Ferguson and Jesse Moya, former LBPD officer Joseph Ferguson, and former LASD deputy Rodrigo Duran.

William Ferguson was appointed an LAPD officer even though his background check turned up five prior arrests for theft and burglary.

Many of those charged have pled guilty. Palomares, serving 15 years for trying to buy ten kilos of cocaine from DEA agents in 2001, is cooperating. He was originally fingered as corrupt by Rampart figure Rafael Perez, who encouraged investigators to check out all of Palomares’ arrests.

Corruption

Slippery slope– “Grass eating” to “meat eating”– Passively accepting gratuities to actively seeking illicit gain

Causes– Rotten apples: one infects others– Environmental: political atmosphere allows corruption to flourish

Most serious corruption is drug-related– Large sums of money– Social ambivalence about drugs

Neutralizers– Drugs are “victimless” crimes– Drug dealers don’t deserve profits– Taking money punishes drug dealers– Officers are poorly paid and deserve more

1980’s: Buddy Boys –NYPD 77th. Precinct

Impoverished high-crime drug sales area Officer misconduct

– Illegal drugs and alcohol abuse– New officers “tested” to see if they “measured up”

“Tough on crime” - extralegal means to punish offenders– Falsification of arrest reports, perjury

Burning money - “psychological” abuse of suspects Traditional corruption – payoffs, thefts of evidence, robberies of drug

dealers, resale of drugs, housebreaks disguised as “searches” Dumping ground for problem officers “Grass eating” to “meat eating”

– Began with burning and flushing confiscated dope– Progressed to selling dope to other dealers

Preventing misconductand corruption

Continuous dialogue within an agency “Supply side” issues

– Officer selection – Internal and external pressures– Measuring performance

Agency climate– Corrective, not punitive– Distinguish between working mistakes and willful

misconduct – Communications must flow up as well as down– Bond between managers and subordinates

Supervision– Time and opportunity– Avoid co-optation

Technology– Recorders, cameras

Agency guidelines– Establish explicit boundaries– Thorough and realistic– Enforce through inspection– Disclose results of internal

investigations “High-risk” units (drugs, intelligence)

– Oversight by command staff– Careful, merit-based selection– Rotation

LAPD website

Profiling and Use of Force

Police and ethnic minorities

Profiling– Race and ethnicity– Social class

Imperatives of policing– Conveying details about suspect appearance– Looking for what is out of place

Some criminal activity is ethnically-based– Street gangs – White, Black, Hispanic– Organized crime – Mafia (Italian), Asian, Russian– Certain fraud and scams

Use of force

Historical abuses of minorities and poor Physical force used infrequently

– Actual prevalence is uncertain, as most policing is done in private

– Officers may downplay or not report– Citizens may not report or exaggerate

Police culture and workplace– “Whatever it takes”, “don’t back down”– Losing “face”

Physical confrontations with police– Race, ethnicity, social class– Nature of officers, antagonists and

encounters in lower class areas Many excessive force complaints involve

persons already in custody– Officers often fail to restrain or

complain about colleagues

Inglewood incident

In July, 2002 Inglewood police officersallegedly brutalized a black youthwhen he allegedly interfered during atraffic stop.

Two white officers were tried.– One officer was acquitted of falsifying a police report.– Charges of assault against a second officer were dismissed

after juries deadlocked twice (7-5 for conviction, then 6-6).– A black officer was also disciplined. Both white officers later

won a lawsuit against the city for reverse discrimination and were awarded a total of more than $1.5 million.

Law on use of force

Authority and responsibility devolves on individual officer Must act reasonably - actions cannot violate law or “clearly

established” legal precedent Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (US Supreme Court, 1989)

– Claims of excessive force are evaluated by the Fourth Amendment's "reasonableness" standard: were the officers' actions "objectively reasonable" in light of the facts and circumstances at the time?

– The "reasonableness" must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene

– There must be an allowance for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second decisions about the amount of force necessary in a particular situation.

US Department of Justiceuse-of-force continuum

1. Verbal commands

2. Use of hands

3. Chemical agents, baton or other impact weapon

4. Canine

5. Less-than-lethal projectiles

6. Deadly force

US DOJ policy on use of deadly force:Fleeing suspects

“Deadly force may be used to prevent the escape of a fleeing subject if there is probable cause to believe: (1) the subject has committed a felony involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious physical injury or death, and (2) the escape of the subject would pose an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to another person.”

Armed carjacker pursued by several agencies. He bails out, runs away, is pursued by a police officer on foot. Officer shoots and kills the suspect, whom he said turned at him a pointed the pistol. The weapon is recovered at the scene.

US DOJ policy on use of deadly force: Danger to self or others

“Deadly force may be justified when an officer reasonably believes that ‘the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to another person.’”

L.A. Times, 12/9/05

Parolee suspected of jewelry thefts drives off with associate as plainclothes deputies prepare to serve a search warrant at his residence. Deputies chase parolee, shoot and kill him when he bangs up police cars and refuses to surrender. Passenger is arrested. He allegedly tells police that he and the driver knew it was the cops. Passenger later became a suspect in the thefts and a fugitive.

A clearly justified example

Many situations seem more ambiguous:

Information processing inrapidly shifting situations

Could deadly force have been used? Should it have been used? If so, at what point(s)? What would be the justification?

Constraints on decision-making

• Confusion and uncertainty• Personal observation or knowledge? From a third party?• If third party, is the person reliable? Are the events believable?• Timeliness of receipt of information

After a five-month review, the Los Angeles Countydistrict attorney's office concluded that there wasn'tsufficient evidence to bring charges against OfficerJohn Hatfield, who struck suspect Stanley Miller11 times with a 2-pound steel flashlight after aJune 23, 2004 car-and-foot chase in South LosAngeles.

"In light of the totality of the circumstances facing Officer Hatfield, we cannot establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Officer Hatfield's actions were without legal necessity," Deputy District Attorney Margo Baxter said in a statement.

Miller, who is black, was beaten on the ground after he appeared to surrender. The arrest, which was videotaped by television news helicopters, was compared by critics to the 1991 videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King by four white police officers. Hatfield, who is Hispanic, ran up and joined other officers who had pushed Miller to the ground at the end of a foot chase.

Officer Hatfield was fired by LAPD Chief Bratton after a three-officer police board of rights found that the one kick, 11 flashlight blows and five knee blows administered by Officer Hatfield demonstrated that he was “at best, out of control.” L.A. Times, 7/30/05

Videotaped Officer Won't Be ChargedThe decision was denounced by minority community leaders and Mayor James Hahn.

LAPD Shooting ofDevin Brown

On 2/6/05 an LAPD officer shot and killedDevin Brown at the end of an early-morningpursuit. The 13-year old was driving a stolencar and had been smoking marijuana.

After he stopped, Brown jammed his car in reverse and backed up, striking the police car.

The officer said he fired because he thought that Brown was trying to crush him. A late-coming witness said that the officer, who had exited his car, was nearly “sandwiched”, leapt out of the way at the last moment and instantly began firing.

On 12/5/05 the L.A. County DA issued a detailed report on the incident. The DA refused to charge the officer, concluding that his use of force was not unreasonable under the circumstances.

The shooting was later determined to be “in policy” by Chief Bratton, who said the officer was defending himself. But Chief Bratton was overruled by the L.A. Police Commission, which found the shooting was unnecessary.

Airman shot by San Bernardino deputies – part II (L.A. Times, 2/1/06)

On January 29, 2005 a 21-year old man was shot by a SBSO deputy after the vehicle he was riding in crashed during apursuit.

Witnesses say that a deputy ordered Elio Carrion, 21, an Air Force security officer, tothe ground and that Carrion complied. There is confusion about what happened later, but a grainy videotape made byan onlooker suggests that Carrion was told to get up. When he did so, the deputy fired, striking Carrion three times. Carrion will recover. The videotape recorded Carrion’s pre-shooting comments, that he was “on the deputy’s side”, expletives shouted by the deputy at Carrion, and Carrion’s protests after he was shot, that he was complying with the deputies.

Deputies were trying to stop the Corvette for speeding. Its driver has an extensive driving record. Neither he nor Carrion were armed or wanted.

Police use of forcecan spark rioting

1965 Watts Riot– DUI arrest; intervention by

family 1992 Rodney King riot

– Rodney King, drunk and highon drugs, was speeding.

– After a high-speed pursuit hefinally stopped. He refused officers’ orders and was nearly shot by a nervous CHP officer.

– An LAPD sergeant and three officers beat King with their batons. All were fired. Their acquittal of assault charges in State court sparked rioting

– Two were later convicted of Federal civil rights violations and served prison terms.

2001 Cincinnati Riot – Shooting of unarmed suspect

How would you call these?

Discussion

Discussion

Are kicking and punching legitimate police tactics?– Should they be?– If so, under what circumstances?

Were they necessary in these cases?– Do the videos provide sufficient information to decide?– Are tools available to minimize the need for physical contact?

Are appearances important? Are there limits to...?

– Rulemaking– Training– What we can realistically expect from officers?

Uncertain and threatening environment Reaction to chases and other critical incidents

– What we can realistically expect from citizens?

Ethical dilemma

You arrested an unruly bar patron and are transporting him to the station with another officer. On arrival, your partner opens the prisoner’s car door. The prisoner spits on your partner, landing a big goober on his forehead. Your partner reacts by punching the handcuffed prisoner in the face, hard. This is clearly an excessive use of force, which by departmental rule you must report.

What do you do?

Police Pursuit

• Hurtling down the street in a 4,500 pound block of steel is a use of force.

• It differs from other uses of force in its potential effects on innocent persons.

• Can this particular use of force ever be “reasonable”?

L.A.-area residents hurt in pursuits during 2005

January 2006 – two LAPD officers hurt

Two deadly chases in one day (January 14, 2006)

Policy differences among agencies

And finally...