KTLA News: "LAPD Chief Davis holds press conference showing public support..." (1971)

Well, uh depending on what action the city council takes on the uh other officers involved in the indictments, the city council has decided so far to uh represent uh the officers in the Seventh Street shooting case. There are also the two officers indicted uh ridiculously for uh instigating a burglary which is an absolute lie. We were involved in an important narcotic investigation and that matter will come before the city council we hope for a judgment. Then there's the uh improper search uh matter and so depending on the actions of the council the money may all be returned to the citizens if it's not needed any portion of this money that is not needed uh even if will be returned on a prora basis that's one thing that we uh I want to be the public to be assured You want to think, >> you know, I thought I'd read all the all the mail. >> Uh, but uh for out of 400, there were four adverse letters. 99% positive and I'm going to assume that this stack much of which hasn't been opened is also uh very very positive in support of the officers. >> Any idea how many letters you have all together by now? Chief Chief, would you sit down? >> Sit down there. Chief >> uh noon on Monday is 3,756 letters. Now the interesting thing is that most of the letters uh also indicate that they have written other letters to people in policym positions uh about this matter. >> Can you estimate the amount of money that you've received so far? Has anyone uh pile >> someone said this one pile here had what 400 $300 and I see there's many other >> many other piles and checks uh various amounts. >> The largest amount you got so far? >> I saw one check this morning for $100. >> Oh, here here it is. Is that the largest single check? Chief, what have you done with the funds? >> Mitchell, since this uh since the other day, >> no, I had a previous commitment to lecture at his law enforcement institute in Washington last Thursday, and I kept my commitment. Uh, I did not attempt to see Mr. Mitchell, nor did Mr. Mitchell attempt to see me. Did >> you see anybody in the Justice Department chief? >> Oh, I saw hundreds of people in the Justice Department to this matter, the indictment. Uh, I being a guest in their home on Thursday, I did not bring the matter up, but I'll tell you, I had to sign more autographs in that justice department than I ever had to sign around the city of Los Angeles. >> This indicates that the people working for Mitchell are for you then, huh? >> Uh, this I met uh on Friday as a member of the executive committee of the International Chiefs of Police Association and men came from all over the country there as members of this organization. and television uh God bless it carried this message all over the width and breadth of America and the reaction from all over America according to the men at this meeting was overwhelmingly against the federal government moving in improperly in this case now that you thought about it for a while uh what can we have again what they in your opinion did wrong justice Well, uh, two things. Uh, number one, in the Seventh Street case, which had been handled in the courts of the state of California, they decided to reopen it and, uh, in effect uh, prosecute these men twice. Uh in the burglary case, they intervene into a very uh important narcotics investigation without having any idea of what it was all about. Never once did uh did Mr. Meyer inquire of me what the nature of that case was. Although I informed Mr. Mitchell last Monday that this was a very big and important narcotics investigation. They got a fragment of information in a preliminary hearing and they went in and whether it's deliberately or whether it's by accident uh appear to be trying to impede the processes of justice in this county. And there will be some very startling revelations in this case as it unfolds that will make hairs stand on end. And we will have to now talk about this as the case unfolds in the federal courts in Los Angeles. >> To what extent was the FBI used in the investigation of these cases? >> So you these letters you mentioned uh indicate that these people have written uh other policy makers as you put it. You mean they may have written to Washington to the justice department? >> They've written uh to a very great extent to President Nixon and they've written to a very great extent to Attorney General Mitchell. Uh most of them mentioned that. Some of them mentioned they've sent carbon copies to Mr. Meyer. >> Are these letters spontaneous? >> Uh, well, I wish I knew how to turn on this kind of support when we needed it. And so I would say that they are a spontaneous reaction to the news that officers of this department were uh startlingly uh indicted by a federal grand jury which had been kept as a captive for about 7 months and fed just one side of a story.