Local Government

LA Council Backs Chief’s Authority to Dismiss Officers for Misconduct

March 21, 2024
Wilmington Chronicles

Hey Wilmington folks! Big news from your Councilman Tim McOsker for the 15th District. He and another council member, Hugo Soto-Martinez, have pushed through a really important change about how police officers are handled when they do something really wrong.

Here’s the scoop:

  1. Firing Bad Behavior: They’re trying to make it so the big boss of the police (the Chief of Police) can quickly fire any officer who does something really bad. This means if an officer does something really wrong, they can be removed faster than before.

  1. Fairer Rules for Discipline: They also want to change how they decide if an officer did something wrong and what happens to them. They’re looking to make this clearer and fairer for everyone.

This has all been agreed on by the city’s big decision-makers and is now off to get written up properly. Soon, you all might get to vote on this in November to make it official. This could be a big step in making sure the police are doing their job right and treating everyone fairly.

Now, you might wonder about the “Christopher Commission” and the “Rampart consent decree” stuff. Let me break it down:

  • Christopher Commission (1991): This was a group of people put together after a big incident where police officers were caught being really rough with a man named Rodney King. The group looked into how the Los Angeles Police Department worked and suggested changes to make sure officers are doing their job right and treating people fairly.

  • Rampart consent decree (2000): This came after a big scandal in a part of the LAPD called the Rampart Division, where officers were found doing a lot of bad stuff, like messing with evidence and being unfair to people they were supposed to protect. The decree was an agreement that the LAPD had to follow certain rules and be checked on to make sure they’re treating everyone right and doing their job properly.

So, these new changes are part of a long effort to make sure the police are doing their job the best way possible, respecting everyone’s rights, and being held accountable when they step out of line. It’s all about making sure everyone in the community is safe and treated fairly. Stay tuned for more updates!