9/27/00 4:05 p.m.
It's My Fault
I accept full responsibility; I expect no consequences.

By Jack Dunphy*, an officer of the Los Angeles Police Department

ince the eruption in Los Angeles last year of what has become known as the "Rampart Scandal," there has been much hand-wringing and breast beating in the corridors of power at City Hall, the Criminal Courts Building, and Parker Center, the LAPD headquarters building. Mayor Richard Riordan, police chief Bernard Parks, city attorney James Hahn, district attorney Gil Garcetti, and assorted lesser bureaucrats have been scrambling from camera to camera and from microphone to microphone, proclaiming to anyone who will listen, "It's not my fault!"

The police department issued its Report of the Board of Inquiry into the Rampart Corruption Incident, in which the authors blamed an atmosphere of "mediocrity" for allowing things to spiral so appallingly out of control, but nowhere within the LAPD or local government will you find an individual of any rank or office willing to say, "Gosh, I guess I screwed up." This leads me to an unpleasant conclusion: I've never worked at Rampart, but, as everyone else in the department has already denied responsibility for the mess, it must have been my fault.

I'm sorry.

But in this instance, I must subscribe to the Janet Reno school of accountability: I accept full responsibility; I expect no consequences.

So, now what? Why, of course, as with all matters great and small in America these days, we look to the federal government, in this case, oddly enough, Janet Reno and her henchmen in the Justice Department. Miss Reno, unable to detect any wrongdoing closer to home, leads the federal brigades now thundering over the far horizon, the swords of justice held aloft and glinting through the cloud of dust, as they bear down on Los Angeles in their crusade to rid the city's police force of every officer in whose mind may dwell even a trace of proscribed thought. (Any electoral benefit that might derive to Al Gore is, of course, mere coincidence.) I expect Bill Lann Lee and a swarm of FBI agents at my doorstep any minute now. I only hope they're careful of the flowers.

Last week, the L.A. city council voted 10–2 to enter into a consent decree with the Justice Department, aimed at correcting what has been termed a "pattern or practice" of civil-rights violations in the LAPD. A concerned taxpayer may well reflect on the implications of that vote and ask his councilman, "If we need the Justice Department to come in and fix things, what are we paying you for?" The majority in effect admitted that they have been ineffectual in their positions and deserve to be given the sack at the earliest opportunity.

For a lesson in civic responsibility, the council might have looked to the nearby suburbs. Under the direction of Bill Lann Lee, the DOJ filed suit against the city of Torrance, California, alleging racial bias in the hiring processes for its police and fire departments. Torrance responded with the positively quaint explanation that it was their practice give a series of tests shown to determine those best qualified to serve as police officers and firefighters, then hire those candidates who achieve the highest scores.

"What cheek!" said Mr. Lee. "See you in court!"

And indeed they did. But unlike the invertebrates of the L.A. city council, the city government in Torrance mounted a defense. The case was dismissed by a Carter-appointed federal judge, who derided DOJ's claims as "frivolous, unreasonable, and without foundation." The judge further ordered DOJ to pay $1.8 million in legal fees to the city.

Such a rebuke did not deter Mr. Lee, however, for it was not his own money he was forced to hand over, but yours and mine. And he'll keep spending more of it as he travels the country in search of the merest suggestion of racial disparity.

The city of Los Angeles knuckled under years ago after being sued by plaintiffs making claims similar to those lodged against Torrance. Rather than take the cases to trial, the city entered into a series of consent decrees, one result of which was a relaxation of standards used to measure applicants. Or, rather, a relaxation of standards used to measure some applicants. Candidates of certain ethnicities are turned away for past minor indiscretions, while others are hired despite having spent time in jail. In the Rampart scandal, and in other less-publicized cases, the chickens are coming home to roost, and the odor in the barnyard is growing a bit ripe.

But to listen to some of the commentary, one might have the impression that the LAPD is nothing but a horde of Visigoths who, but for the timely restraints about to be imposed by the Justice Department, would soon have every door in the city off its hinges and every resident — the minorities, at least — thrown in the slammer on some trumped-up charge. Indeed, there are those who would have you believe that the only drugs or guns to be found on the streets of Los Angeles are those that have been planted on innocent citizens by crooked cops.

A news bulletin: There are bad people in the world, a disproportionate number of whom seem to live in Los Angeles, and they are deterred from mayhem only by the credible threat of incarceration and, when necessary, the swift application of violence.

Despite the political winds swirling about them, the men and women of the LAPD continue daily to venture into harm's way. On Monday, we laid to rest a brave young man who lost his life in the service of an often ungrateful public.

On September 19 at 2:30 A.M., as most of the city slept, officers Robert Mata and Sonny Patsenhann were preparing to end their shift at LAPD's Harbor Division. When a fellow officer radioed a request for assistance with an auto-theft suspect, Mata and Patsenhann, despite being only minutes from the comfort and safety of their end-of-watch, responded to the call. While en route, Mata lost control of their patrol car, which then collided with a lamp post.

Incredibly, using only brute force, arriving officers lifted the 4,000 pound car away from the post and were able to extricate Officer Patsenhann from the wreckage. Officer Mata remained trapped in the car until he was freed by firefighters and paramedics.

Despite the valiant efforts of those at the scene, and those of the emergency-room staff at Harbor UCLA Hospital, Officer Mata succumbed to his injuries and died during surgery.

Robert Mata was 26. He leaves his wife, Holly, a deputy with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, and two young daughters.

George Orwell was referring to the military when he wrote, "We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." His words are no less applicable to police officers.

Sleep well tonight.

(*Jack Dunphy is the author's nom de cyber. The opinions expressed are his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD management .)