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The Break – Looking Back At N.W.A.

KC and Chris come back to talk about the subject matter in the movie Straight Outta Compton, the LA Riots, Rodney King, violence over sex, certain women referred to as a bitch, opening the door for misogyny, and black women’s relationship with rap music.

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The Cinematic Saga of Christopher Dorner

I was not the first person to hear about elite former police and naval officer Christopher Dorner’s campaign of violence to avenge the disgrace and slander he alleges was wrongly perpetrated against him by officers of, and attorneys and officials affiliated with, the Los Angeles Police Department: acts which led to his termination as a police and naval officer and the ruining of his career and, according to Mr. Dorner, his personal life as well. I didn’t start to catch on to this story until hearing some chatter on the radio Thursday morning about a former Los Angeles police officer gone rogue, and then listened to snippets of the manifesto he posted online detailing the story behind his vendetta, as well as his arbitrary opinions on a long list of other issues and people. My interest developed, but it wasn’t until I saw Chief of Police Charlie Beck addressing the press from a secured room that I realized that there was an unusual dynamic in place in this murderous tale. The Los Angeles Police Department is scared. And with one of their own dead, downed after exchanging gunfire with the suspect in Irvine, and two other cops wounded at the hands of one of their most capable officers, they have good reason to be. Christopher Dorner remains at large. The search for him is wide ranging, fanning out now to the snowy mountains of Big Bear, where he is thought to be concealing himself in the wintry cold, though no one knows for sure. They, with the rest of the city and even the country, wait with bated breath to see if and when he strikes again, hoping only that the police find him before he does.

Of course, not everyone is hoping the cops do find him, and that is the part of this story which is most interesting to me. While the mainstream media and most people are portraying Dorner as a murderer who needs to be brought to justice, many people, and very many within the black community in Los Angeles, have more than a little bit of sympathy for the plight and crusade of Christopher Dorner. We, after all, know the dark side of the LAPD better than any other group in this massive city of Los Angeles, and the corruption and brutality of Los Angeles city police officers historically speaking is something that even they do not dispute. Dorner puts himself forward as an avenger of those who have suffered at the hands of the LAPD, as the just punisher of the sins of the department which have driven him to this point. He writes, “I saw some of the most vile things humans can inflict on others as a police officer in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the streets of LA. It was in the confounds of LAPD police stations and shops (cruisers). The enemy combatants in LA are not the citizens and suspects, it’s the police officers.”  Black people of inner city Los Angeles have little problem believing that, being the children of the Watts riots, the Los Angeles riots and Rodney King. And as I hear people talk about Dorner, not all of them black by any means but many of them, with subtle and not so subtle tones of admiration for his willingness and his ability to intimidate the most feared police department in America, I understand. I understand the historic mistrust and animosity we have towards the police, and it does not strike me as unbelievable that every word of Mr. Dorner’s testimony might be the truth. Liars are seldom so motivated by their own lies as this man is. But it does not make him worthy of our admiration. It does not erase the horror of the terrible things he is reported to have done.

Because of Christopher Dorner, the former first lady of the Church I attend has lost a step son; Keith Lawrence, the fiance of Monica Quan, both of whom  he supposedly shot to death in a car in Irvine simply because Ms. Quan was the daughter of a police Captain Dorner blamed for his misfortune; two individuals who had nothing to do with the injustices Mr. Dorner allegedly suffered at the hands of the LAPD. I can think of no greater hypocrisy than to accuse some people of treating innocent people unjustly, and then to turn around and take vengeance by murdering innocent people oneself. Had he confined his retribution merely to those against whom he may have had legitimate grievances he would still be wrong. But to expand his carnage to those so completely undeserving makes him more than misguided; it makes him as bad and worse than those whose supposed corruption has brought him to this terrible point, where he has made himself judge and jury, meting out death and punishment not only to those who may be guilty, but also to those who certainly are innocent.

I do not hate Christopher Dorner. I feel sorry for him. He is compelling because in his writings one can easily perceive the thought processes of a rational, even thoughtful individual. In reading his manifesto, I felt great remorse that such a person could be twisted by circumstances to become such a distortion of what I imagine to be his former self. The record seems to indicate that this was once a man of integrity, though he deludes himself to think he is such a man now. Nevertheless, if the culture of corruption Mr. Dorner illustrates in his manifesto is even half true, than such perversions of justice in the halls of the police department must too be reckoned with. That a man’s reputation can be destroyed for bringing to light the crimes of his fellow officers is a sin almost as serious as the crimes Dorner has perpetrated, and even worse when one extrapolates the consequences such corruption has for this great city of Los Angeles that the LAPD is meant to protect and serve. It is by no means to condone Christopher Dorner to say that if these sorts of incidents which he has described do indeed persist in our police force (and there is more evidence than this that they do) than it is right for this to be a come to Jesus moment for those who govern the force, and shape the system.

I wish the Los Angeles Police Department luck in bringing Christopher Dorner to justice. Then I wish honest officers and city, state and federal officials, as well as the people of Los Angeles through the legitimacy of the democratic process, the utmost luck in bringing justice to the criminal elements of the LAPD.

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Twenty Years After the LA Riots: What Has Changed?

Twenty years ago most of Los Angeles was in flames. The news of the “not guilty” verdict in the Rodney King trial hit the streets within minutes; shortly after, a community took to the streets in anger that turned into rage and a thirst for vengeance and retribution by any means necessary. The city became unglued and fell helpless as all order was lost. Police officers were ordered to stand down in the wake of angry mobs looking on only as outsiders watching a community burn.

Critics say the police gave up when the riots erupted, letting big chunks of Los Angeles burn while looters and hoodlums ruled. The officers say commanders held them back, fearing that street clashes would produce endless violent video loops and countless battered Rodney Kings. To the community the system had failed and everything literally became black and white: All four white police officers had gotten away with savagely beating up an unarmed black motorist.

In 1992, where the LAPD was viewed as an occupying force in their neighborhoods, it was clear that a community was at war. Sgt. Rick Arteaga was one of six officers trying to face down 400 angry residents shouting at him: Four hundred years! You’ve been suppressing us for 400 years! Arteaga, just 29, was thinking, “What did 400 years have to do with me?” At that time, everything!

To this day some LAPD officers are still bitter about the call to stand down, which was infact the right call made not to engage a hostile community frustrated with the racist police tactics in their neighborhoods. On April 291992, The LA riots went down as the most destructive riots in US history that left 54 people dead, over 2300 people injured and over a billion dollars in property damage. It was a most disgraceful time for the LAPD as they became the poster child for police brutality and racism, especially when then Sergeant Stacey Koon publicly defended the use of force against Rodney King as legal and appropriate during testimony in his trial for beating King.

It was a most disgraceful time for the criminal justice system as all twelve jurors: ten white, one Asian and one Hispanic completely sympathized with the four police officers and couldn’t see how they violated King’s civil rights. After the trial, most of the jurors refused to go on record except for one juror who was interviewed on ABC’s Nightline. The juror was quoted as saying the cops were simply doing what they were trained to do and reacted in fear of King either running away or attacking them. It was a most disgraceful time for Los Angeles as the city was divided amongst racial lines as certain areas and communities were visibly neglected. Lastly, the LA Riots were a most disgraceful time for America, as the riots became a world symbol of racial tensions turning into racial destruction.

What has changed in 20 years? Right after the Rodney King beating, the US Attorney General launched a nationwide investigation reviewing all claims of police brutality. An independent commission led by Warren Christopher cited the LAPD for excessive force, racist cops, indifferent commanders and disdain for residents. Then-Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, who was known for his combative style, was castigated as a leader out of touch with the changing realities of the city. Two months following the riots he resigned. Community policing was prescribed as a way to restore the public’s trust and dilute the “siege mentality.” Its focus was on crime prevention and mutual respect between officers and citizens. In 2001 the Los Angeles Police Department entered into a court-mandated federal consent decree after a pileup of scandals and controversies, including King’s beating, the fallout from the deadly uprising that followed, the four police officers’ acquittal, and the Rampart scandal.

The eight-year oversight process ended in 2009, however as part of the reforms issued moving forward, all police cars must be outfitted with camera’s that will record all traffic and pedestrian stops. Also, the LAPD commission must conduct a series of reports on how police officials investigate and resolve claims of racial profiling. To help fight allegations of corruption, officers in gang and narcotic must submit financial records to supervisors. What has changed in 20 years? The LAPD has tried to change its reputation from community oppressor to community partner largely due to the consent decree and independent researchers.

Successive LAPD chiefs disciplined, suspended and fired officers for misconduct. The use of force by officers dropped. Citizen complaints leveled off. LAPD officials became constant presences at community events, meetings and forums, always pushing partnership and dialogue with the community leaders. Today crime is lower than it has been in decades, and 70 percent of L.A. residents say they approve of the LAPD. Twenty years ago, the LAPD was 59 percent white. Now that number is 37 percent. The diversification of the LAPD has helped changed its culture. However, the persisting issues of racial profiling and police brutality are issues that the department must continue to respond to swiftly and with vigilance.

Twenty years ago Los Angeles was a powder keg ready to blow up aside from the Rodney King beating. A high poverty rate in South L.A. where crime and drugs ruled the streets, neighborhoods that were among the most racially balkanized in the nation, angry over the hand slap sentence for Korean American grocer Soon Ja Du, who murdered 15-year-old Latasha Harlins after a dispute over a bottle of orange juice resulting in Black-Korean tensions boiling over. Today 68 percent of Angelenos surveyed believe that all four major ethnic groups are getting along better.

Lastly, what about South L.A where much of the damage and destruction occurred? South L.A. is still written off as banks, corporations, and government officials reneged on promises to uplift the community via home and business loans and social service programs. This is a problem as prosperity in South L.A. is constantly being put on hold due to persistent fears of criminal violence.

Twenty years ago, not everyone had access to cameras, the Internet, and social media. Modern technology has empowered more people to become watchdogs against police brutality with their weapon being the smartphone. Best believe if there is an altercation between a police officer and an individual with witnesses around, someone has a camera phone and is recording the incident ready to post it online.

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The LA Riots: 20 Years Later

I was 14 years old when the riots broke out in Los Angeles and I remember vividly the events that occurred before, during and after the unrest. It’s difficult to swallow the fact that 20 years has flown by in a blink as the memories of the events still seem so close. I was asked to share my memories of the events that occurred – here is my story:
The riots began at my bus stop at the intersection of Florence and Normandie Avenues, so I lived in the midst of the event. I remember getting off the bus there and seeing a small bonfire in the streets. Within hours both Normandie and Vermont were set ablaze.
What I remember most vividly is the rain of ashes that covered our front porch, lawn and neighborhood. I also remember my mother and father taking me for a drive when things settled and seeing businesses that I had frequented my entire life burned to the ground. I also remember feeling both afraid, but safe – there was a sense of unity and solidarity in my neighborhood that I hadn’t experienced before (or since). The armed guard stood solidly on the main streets to keep us contained and controlled. We had a curfew set by the police. We were all in this situation together.
The events made palpable what I was already raised to believe: Black people in the U.S. are often perceived in a way that doesn’t favor us, doesn’t give us a fair chance. We are confronted daily with others’ preconceived notions that inform how they choose to (or not to) interact with us. We can’t deal with the police like people of other races – in fact a police presence only heightens fear rather than guarantee safety.

My mother lived through the Watts riots so the LA riots was history repeating itself. When people feel pushed up against a wall they have no choice but to fight back. The only difference is that we live in a time where people want to dilute race and make it a non-issue, as if it has no bearing on how people treat each other. That in and of itself can cause people to riot because their experiences are swept under a rug instead of being acknowledged and dealt with.

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The City is Burning!

Today marks the final day in the 1965 event known as the Watts Riots. These riots would be deemed the move severe riots in Los Angeles history until the LA Riots of 1992. When the 1992 riots occurred, I remember watching my mother’s face as we drove down Vermont Avenue in our neighborhood at that time. I remember her saying with tears in her eyes, “This is exactly like what happened in Watts in the 60’s”.

Like the LA Riots, the Watts riots were incited by an act of police brutality against Blacks, and a community’s response to law enforcement racist practices.  Here is a quick summary of the events that occurred:

A Los Angeles police officer pulled over motorist Marquette Frye [who was with his brother Ronald]; he suspected Marquette of driving drunk. While officers questioned them, a crowd of onlookers had begun to form. When Rena Frye, the boys mother showed up, a struggle ensued which led to the arrest of all 3 members of the Frye family. More officers had arrived on the scene and had hit the brothers with their batons. The crowd had grown and by this point had become angry. After the police left the scene, the crowd & tension escalated and sparked the riots, which lasted 6 days. More than 34 people died, 1000 wounded, and an estimated $50 – $100 million in property damage. (From PBS)

I remember the LA Riots quite vividly: the beating of Rodney King; the unfair verdict in the trial of the officers who beat him; the small bonfire in the middle of the street on Florence & Normandie at my bus stop the day the verdict was read; the smell of smoke and the sight of flames over the rooftops of homes in my neighborhood; and the next day, the darkness of ash scattered across our front porch and lawn and over the entire neighborhood. I also remembered feeling angry and disappointed that a Black man could be abused by police and the incident be caught on tape in the 90’s – and no instant punishment enforced on the offending officers. I felt like my people were finally united around an issue and in our own way, trying to do something about it.

What I didn’t realize was the aftermath of burning down your own neighborhood. Just like Watts, our anger clouded us from seeing that we were vandalizing our environment, burning down and looting from the businesses that bolstered our community. And like Watts, the neighborhood would never fully recover.

In this post-Obama society, I wish I could say we are past these issues, but we’re not. Everyday people of color around this country are attacked by the police and much of it goes unreported. I think my fellow Angelenos would agree, however, that if another Rodney King attack happened in our generation, a riot would be the least of the LAPD’s concerns. Fighting back won’t require burning down our neighborhoods – but making the police understand that they aren’t dealing with animals to brutalize, but a strong community of people who will not sit by quietly and be attacked. That lesson might be learned by any means necessary – and at their expense.