Judge Lifts LAPD Consent Decree

In September, the LAPD opened the new Rampart Station further west of the original station built in 1966 that was the setting of the Rampart scandal. Photo courtesy of Ucla90024 (Wikimedia).

U.S. District Court Judge Gary A. Feess has terminated the consent decree federal officials forced on the LAPD in 2001 in the wake of the Rampart corruption scandal, the Los Angeles Times reports.

In freeing the LAPD, Feess and his monitor, Michael Cherkasky, lauded the department for its progress.

In recent months, Police Chief William Bratton has said the continued oversight had become a stigma that was hurting morale in a department that had proved its ability to police itself.

The Los Angeles Police Commission will provide oversight of the department, under the new agreement. The department has agreed to install video cameras into its patrol cars to record traffic and pedestrian stops. Also, officers in gang and narcotic units must submit details of their personal finances to supervisors.

The decree stemmed from corruption in an LAPD anti-gang unit that implicated more than 70 officers and led the the overturning of 106 criminal convictions. The Rampart scandal also led to more than 140 civil lawsuits against the city of Los Angeles and more than $125 million in settlements.

Read Full Story