KTLA News: "LAPD and District Attorney's Office react to the Caplan Report." (1980)

The report by George Washington University law professor Gerald Kaplan is an evaluation of the Los Angeles District Attorney's program to monitor incidents of deadly force by police officers in LA County. In its strongest statement, the Kaplan report says that a citizen acts at his or her peril in any confrontation with the Los Angeles Police Department. The report was prepared for the federal law enforcement assistance program. Chief Daryl Gates took issue with a claim that his department does not cooperate with the DA's investigators. Traditionally, historically, we have called in the district attorney on on controversial uh investigations of that type. We have asked them. I can go back to times when we actually begged them to come in and and assist us with an investigation. Uh so our cooperation is there. The district attorney's office investigates officer involved shootings under a $255,000 federal grant. LAPD and the LA County Sheriff's Department both take part in this program, but several other departments in the county so far have refused. The Kaplan report would be a controversial item at any time, but the fact that it's released coincides with the involvement in a new controversy over the use of deadly force by the LAPD only heightens its impact. At Parker Center, Mike Botula reporting for News at 10. The district attorney's office has its own response to the Kaplan report, indicating that the report may hinge on outofdate facts. >> I understand the report was dated back in March of this year. I can tell you that the level of cooperation between the LAPD and this office uh has improved considerably in the last several months. As you may recall, we had some meetings with uh Chief Wes Harvey, I think in the first part of May, and uh I can tell you that the level of cooperation between this department and the LAPD has improved considerably. And basically, we are satisfied with the level of cooperation we're getting now. The LAPD Okay, walk straight towards me. Walk straight towards me. Okay, keep coming now. Keep coming. Okay, put your hand behind your head and turn around. thing. If the great objection is that everybody suddenly starts talking about the facts of the shooting before the facts are in, how do you solve that problem? Where does it begin? Where do you begin with the with nobody talking? How do you do that? No. >> I think it's very important that you talk about what you know as you do with almost any other incident. You talk about what you know. >> It's the conclusions that I object to. It's the conclusions where the NAACP comes out and says this is an illegal act, an improper act, all of these kinds of things. That's what I'm talking about. All of the allegations that are made before the facts are in. Talk about the the incident. Talk about what people are saying about it. Talk about all these kind of things. Don't draw the conclusion. Well, their answer to me about that was that the facts that they've been able to garner in the Larry Morris case, for example, are flatly different in many instances from the facts released by the police department the day after the shooting. >> I think I think that's probably true, but that doesn't mean the information they have is any more correct than the information we have or the information we have is any more incorrect than than what they have. What you have to await is those for those reports to be fully analyzed, fully completed, all the facts to come in and then a judgment made. That's the way we do it, I think, in America, isn't it? >> Well, you released, for example, Lieutenant Hickey released your set of facts the day after the shooting. The day after that, >> well, we issue a press release. >> Okay. >> And we do that for your convenience and for the in terms of the people's right to know. We do that as quickly as we as we can. And then they release their set of facts as they know them or as they say that the thing happened. What's wrong with that? I mean, >> I see nothing wrong with that at all. >> It's the conclusion. Again, it's the conclusions that are arrived at before the facts are in. Now, already it's been determined that >> that the apparently the baton was not placed across the the neck and the individual choked to death by that. That's already been concluded by the by the uh by the coroner. They don't know what the cause of death is. Chief has uh your critical government report also like to know in terms of your department's dealings with investigative agencies like the district attorneys and operation. Just how much do you feel you owe that body in terms of cooperation seems to be one of the areas of criticism by that? Well, we've always been very cooperative with any duly constituted governmental agency that has a right to be involved in investigation. As I mentioned, >> the level of cooperation borders on comes falls just short of being insubordinate to the police commission. >> Well, it also says I feel and all of those kinds of things. I haven't read the report, but just what I read from the Los Angeles Times, I I must say it does not sound like a very valid kind of report. It sounds like the the usual nonsense that comes out of Washington, DC. >> Can you give us give me some of the points that that make you question the validity of the report? >> I don't have I didn't read the report. I only have the account that I read in the Los Angeles Times, but to indicate that a citizen in the in in the city of Los Angeles is under peril when he confronts the Los Angeles Police Department, you know, that those are that's pretty strong language and and absolutely not true at all. >> Chief Gates, do you think some of the criticism would stop? The Kaplan report would be a controversial item at any time, but the fact that it was released while the Los Angeles Police Department a report like this would be a controversial item released at any time, but given the circumstances that its release comes at a time when the Los Angeles Police Department is already embroiled in a controversy over the use of deadly force only heightens its impact. at Parker Center. Mike Botula reporting for News at 10. The Kaplan report would be a controversial item at any time, but the fact that it's released comes during the midst of a controversy involving deadly force and members of the Los Angeles Department of Poland. >> Hello. >> Okay. the report uh the strongest statement seems to be that a citizen is in peril in any confrontation with with LAPD. But the the situation is also described as one where the Los Angeles Police Department is uncooperative with the district attorney's investigators to the point of being almost insubordinate to the police commission. I'd like to know just what the level of cooperation is between your office and >> well first of all I should comment we have not actually >> of cooperation and would this improvement indicate that perhaps this report is dealing with old news >> I've not seen the report again but I would say there has been a certainly a better level of cooperation we dealt with matters such as the our notification time we wanted to be notified earlier we wanted to have an initial briefing when we arrived at the scene uh we wanted to uh establish a level of cooperation out there as our concurrent investigations were being conducted. We feel now that is taking place. >> What do you see coming out when you actually see the letter of this report? What uh how will you view it? >> We'll look at it look at it thoroughly and hopefully we can comment at that point but as of now we've not had occasion to read it. Well, what's uh let's say your reaction to hearing things like this from the federal level is the agency that funded the investigations that you carry out in the officer involved shooting area. >> Well, I don't have any initial reaction. I'm sure that they tried to look at the the the various parties and the various agencies and I'm sure they rendered their report after studying all sides, but not having seen it, it's very difficult to comment on it at this point. >> Don't you feel it too kind of complicates the situation? You have one uh one incident now that's being investigated, the chokeold incident involving Larry Morris the other day. Doesn't this kind of add fuel to a fire? That's a very emotional issue. >> Well, it could, but we're going to try to do our job. Uh this is these investigations are always very tough. We understand that. We understand our job is to be as thorough, as fair, as objective, as independent as we can. We're going to try to do that in all the cases. Uh that's uh despite any kind of reports that come out. >> And getting back to that level of cooperation, you feel that your investigators can get their job done in these cases involving the Los Angeles Police Department? >> I believe they can now. Yes. And now here's the Kaplan report. In its strongest statement, the Kaplan report says that a citizen acts at his or her peril in any confrontation. Meet my mouth. Take two. In its strongest statement, the Kaplan report says that a citizen acts at his or her peril in any confrontation with the Los Angeles Police Department. The report by George Washington University law professor Gerald Kaplan is an evaluation of the LA District Attorney's program to monitor incidents of deadly force by officers of the LAPD. The Kaplan report was prepared for the federal law enforcement assistance program. Stop that a second. Take three. Mhm.