Political and Cultural Aftermath
Police Chief Bernard Parks was not rehired by newly elected Mayor James K. Hahn in 2001. This arguably caused Hahn to lose the support of South Los Angeles's black community, leading to his defeat by Antonio Villaraigosa in the 2005 election.
The ensuing elimination of the Rampart CRASH division following the scandal is believed to have enabled the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang to grow its already substantial power among the Rampart district's Salvadoran population. The rival 18th Street Gang continues to thrive in Rampart as well, with as many as 20,000 members in Los Angeles county.
In 2002, the television series The Shield premiered, depicting a band of rogue Los Angeles police officers. The program was so directly inspired by the Rampart Scandal that "Rampart" was nearly used as the series title. The title was presumably changed in order to avoid potential production issues and conflicts with the LAPD.
In 2003, the Blue Ribbon Rampart Review Panel, chaired by Constance L. Rice of the Advancement Project, was convened by the Los Angeles Police Commission and Chief William J. Bratton. The panel's report was made public in 2006.
The action thriller movie Cellular featured a plot involving corrupt LAPD cops. Though it was not a serious crime drama, it used the Rampart Scandal to lend some credibility to the plot, showing a documentary segment of the Rampart Scandal in the bonus features of the movie DVD.
The plot of Rockstar Games' controversial game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, set in 1992, involves three corrupt CRASH officers. The CRASH motto, "intimidate those who intimidate others," is earlier spoken directly by one of these characters.
In 2010, the crime drama movie Faster featured a police officer played by Billy Bob Thornton who is revealed to be a corrupt former Rampart CRASH officer.
The 2011 film Rampart takes place during the Rampart scandal as the main character Dave Brown faces the consequences of his career.
Read more about this topic: Rampart Scandal
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