Was Police Investigation an Empty Ritual, or Will It Bring Change? : The Times asked a diverse group of people, most of them Los Angeles residents, to comment on the report of the Christopher Commission. The following commentaries are taken from the interviews. : We've Been Here Before

By DAVID GRAY, Actor

July 12, 1991 12 AM PT

<i> Gray, who does commercials and voice-overs, is a Los Angeles resident who has been actively involved in local Neighborhood Watch programs. </i>

The McCone Commission (on the Watts riots) in 1965 recommended the implementation of community-based policing and an inspector general. The fact that 26 years later the same recommendations are being made is bugging me.

The president of the Police Commission in 1965 was John Ferraro (now City Council president). This means the man who was instrumental back then in seeing those recommendations implemented is 26 years later the same man advocating we should stick with the status quo. Warren Christopher also was on the McCone Commission.

I’m asking, are we going to go through this every 26 years? Is this a ritual? How many people are going to get hurt in the meantime?