California Black Media

Share Link:

Article courtesy of The L.A. Wave Newspaper.
For more stories, visit The L.A. Wave Newspaper online. 

INGLEWOOD — The city’s police department has issued a brief one-page response to a lengthy, critical U.S. Justice Department report of its practices in the wake of a civil rights probe into a series of deadly officer-involved shootings in the last two years.

However, in a Feb. 4 telephone interview, Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks stressed that it is just an “initial” reply, and said the department will release a point-by-point analysis of the Justice Department findings within 18 months.

The move comes a little over a month since the Justice Department provided the results of its review in the form of a 33-page letter to former mayor Roosevelt Dorn.

It set out its findings under 10 major headings that included use of force, complaints of misconduct, internal affairs, discipline, supervisor oversight, early warning system, officer training and community outreach.

The letter stated that the majority of the IPD’s policies and procedures were outdated and should be revised to be more consistent and comprehensive. In terms of deadly force, the report deemed that Inglewood’s “rules are vague and inconsistent with U.S. Supreme Court guidelines.”

The police force’s reply, dated Jan. 27, came from the office of Mayor Pro Tem Ralph Franklin and is addressed to Shanetta Y. Cutlar, of the Chief Special Investigation Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Titled “Investigation of Inglewood Police Department,” it begins by acknowledging the background of the probe “stemming from the Civil Right’s Division’s Investigation of the City of Inglewood’s Police Department.”

Continuing In the second paragraph, it pledges that the police department is committed to strengthening its organizational performance.

“The reform efforts which are ongoing within the Department will certainly be consistent with recommendations identified in the letter,” it says, adding that “a significant number of the recommendations, including those related to force, force reporting, and administrative investigative processes, have either been implemented or is slated for implementation in the near future.”

In the final paragraph, the city and its police department promise to continue cooperating with the investigative process. “The context of the response is that the city received the Justice Department technical assistance letter,” said Seabrooks, “and as we continue our path towards organizational reform the contents of the letter will definitely be a factor in our improvement.”

She added: “Regarding the content of the report overall, there was nothing shocking or unexpected. It was thorough and comprehensive; in some areas not as accurate as it could have been. But we have to remember that it was more reflective of the snapshot in time when they took it and not necessarily indicative of where the organization was a week after their visit or where it is now.”

Citing the department’s reforms, Seabrooks noted that in the last year alone, IPD had put forth 49 policies, eight of which were brand new.

The remaining 41, she said, were amended policies to include the expansion and refinement of procedural language.

“On deadly force, for instance, we took a look at the policy and had it vetted by attorneys who specialize in police litigation matters and we revised it,” she said.

“But these things can’t be done overnight. A police department is like a very large ship, and to turn it and make a series of changes both in terms of culture and operational protocol requires a slow and measured movement.”