LAPD to compile ‘much more comprehensive’ review of force, chief says

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday that his department will put together a “much more comprehensive” review this year than ever before of incidents in which his officers used force.

Beck told the Police Commission that his agency’s end-of-year report would look at whom police used force against, including a demographic breakdown that could be compared with the demographics of people involved in 911 calls and arrests. The report will also look at where in the city force was used compared with where 911 calls were made and where violent crime was reported.

Speaking to reporters after the commission’s weekly meeting, Beck said it was “painfully obvious” why the more detailed report will be compiled this year. The way officers use force, particularly against black men, has become a central theme in the heated national debate surrounding policing.

“If you view these things in a vacuum or with limited comparative data, it’s hard to draw conclusions,” Beck said. “I want to provide enough data that people can see the total picture, not just one small piece of it.”

Los Angeles police officers have shot 33 people this year, 18 fatally.

The most recent shooting occurred last week near USC, when an officer wounded a 30-year-old man. Prosecutors allege the man, Oscar Diaz, attacked two officers with a knife after they pulled over the stolen vehicle he was driving.

Beck told police commissioners that his officers had used force about 1,500 times this year, “most of them minor incidents.” Those occurred during a year when officers have conducted more than 500,000 stops, answered 750,000 radio calls and made more than 97,000 arrests, Beck said.

Although police shootings generally draw more public scrutiny, force by officers can include baton strikes, Taser deployments, grabbing someone or holding them down. Like many other police departments, the LAPD has been criticized for some of the shootings by officers this year.

Beck said the department’s decision to put together the detailed review came after conversations he had with members of the Police Commission, including the board’s new president, Matt Johnson.

“We look forward to working with you on the analysis,” Johnson told Beck at Tuesday’s meeting.

Another commissioner, Robert Saltzman, called the chief’s announcement “significant.” Saltzman said the information provided would lead to a public discussion about force that was a “crucial aspect” of the commission’s oversight of the LAPD.

“The current rate of uses of force raises questions,” Saltzman told The Times. “I consider the approach an important step forward.”

Beck told reporters that he wanted Los Angeles to “set the bar in the way it looks at use of force” by police.

“I may not change folks’ conclusions on this subject, but I would like to put some facts in front of them so they can make a better assessment,” he said.

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