LAPD Rampart Division - The "Rampart Scandal"

The "Rampart Scandal"

Main article: Rampart scandal See also: Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums and Javier Ovando

The Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) anti-gang program initiated under the direction of LAPD Chief Daryl F. Gates in the late 1970s had encountered some success in the Rampart Division. However, between 1998–2000, graphic allegations of extreme police misconduct among Rampart's CRASH squad began to emerge. This misconduct involved several officers and detectives, most notably Rafael Perez. Perez was suspected to be involved in a bank robbery committed by another Rampart Division officer, David Mack; he also stole six pounds of cocaine from an LAPD evidence locker, which eventually led to his arrest. His most egregious act involved the shooting—and framing—of unarmed gang member Javier Ovando. Perez originally claimed that Ovando had opened fire at both Perez and another officer, Nino Durden. The two officers then returned fire, leaving Ovando paralyzed. Perez and Durden then framed Ovando for the attack and he was found guilty and sentenced to 23 years in prison (Ovando was later released once Perez admitted to shooting and framing him). After several other incidents, the LAPD became suspicious of Perez and began to investigate him. Perez later pled guilty to the cocaine theft in exchange for information about other corrupt officers within the Rampart Division. In turn, Perez implicated approximately 70 officers of misconduct.

The resulting scandal—exacerbated by what is widely viewed as inept public relations management by then-chief Bernard Parks—severely compromised the credibility of the LAPD, and the Rampart Division in particular, during a time when the department had only just begun to recover from the public relations fiasco of the Los Angeles Riots.

The most prominent casualty of the scandal was Parks himself, who was not rehired by newly elected Mayor James K. Hahn in 2001. While Parks's termination was hailed by both outside observers and the LAPD's rank and file, Hahn's indelicate handling of the matter cost him the support of South Los Angeles's African-American community, which in turn helped to lead to his defeat by Antonio Villaraigosa in the 2005 mayoral election. Parks, however, was elected to the City Council in 2003, where he still serves.