Rampart Scandal

Figure 1: Photo of former officer Rafael Perez [ Source: PBS/Wikipedia ]

Overview

The Rampart scandal was a scandal of police corruption that unfolded from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. This scandal took place in Los Angeles, United States, and was involved within Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit of the Rampart divison, which was a specialized gang intelligence unit of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)

Over 70 police officers were involved in the scandal, with various forms of abusing power. These included including police brutality, planting of false evidence, stealing and drug dealing, bank robbery, perjury and cover-ups thereof.

Sufficient evidence was gathered to present 58 of them to an internal administrative board. Among these, 24 were determined to have engaged in misconduct, resulting in twelve receiving suspensions of varying durations, seven being compelled to resign or retire, and five being dismissed from their positions. Consequently, due to the falsified evidence and perjury committed by the Rampart CRASH officers, 106 criminal convictions were annulled.

Progression of the scandal

Officer Kevin Gaines shooting

On March 18, 1997 LAPD undercover officer Frank Lyga shot and killed an off-duty and in plainclothes Rampart CRASH officer, Kevin Gaines, in self-defense, following a case of road rage. The shooting caused a major controversy as it involved a white officer, Frank Lyga, killing a black officer, Kevin Gaines.

In an article that Lyga told to FRONTLINE, it is alleged that Gaines threatened Lyga with a gun, adding that he responded it self-defense. In addition, Lyga also said that “In my training experience this guy had 'I'm a gang member' written all over him.” Gaines was also discovered to have been “involved in similar road rage incidents, threatening drivers and brandishing his gun.”

After three seperate investigations, it was concluded that the shooting was not the result of racial or improper conduct and was “in policy”. Following the shooting incident, the Gaines family, with attorney Johnnie Cochran representing them, initiated a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, seeking $25 million in damages. Eventually, the city reached a settlement in the amount of $250,000.

Station-House beating

On February 26 1998, CRASH L.A.P.D. Officer Brian Hewitt brought 18th Street gang member Ismael Jimenez to the Rampart police station for questioning. During questioning, Hewitt allegedly beat up the handcuffed Jimenez in the stomach and chest, causing him to vomit blood.

Following his release, Jimenez was escorted to the emergency room and told doctors he had been beaten by officers Hewitt and his partner Daniel Lujan while in police custody. Following several internal investigations, Hewitt was fired from the LAPD, while Jimenez was awarded $231,000 in a civil settlement with the city of Los Angeles, but served still served time for drug distribution and conspiracy to commit murder.

Missing cocaine

Authorities in the Los Angeles Police Department's property room found that six pounds of cocaine evidence were unaccounted for. Within a week, detectives directed their investigation towards L.A.P.D. officer Rafael Perez, who was part of the Rampart CRASH unit.

Investigative task force created

In response to various misconducts by officers, L.A.P.D. Chief Bernard Parks established an internal investigative task force, later naming it the Rampart investigative task force, which focused on prosecuting Rafael Perez.

Following an audit, it was uncovered there was another pound of cocaine unaccounted for, which had been booked following a prior arrest by Lyga, the officer who had shot Gaines the year before. At the time, it was suspected the cocaine booked by Lyga was stolen by Perez in retaliation of the shooting of Gaines

Perez's arrest and deal

On August 25 1998, Perez was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell, grand theft and forgery. However, the jury was deadlocked, resulting in a 8 to 4 in favor of conviction after 5 days of consideration.

On September 8, 1999, Perez cut a deal with investigators, resulting in him pleading guilty to cocaine theft and providing prosecutors information about two “bad” shootings and three other Rampart CRASH officers involved in illegal activity. In exchange, Perez received immunity from further prosecution of misconduct short of murder and a five year sentence in prison, of which he would 3 in prison and parole afterwards. This provision of information lead to the release of Javier Ovando and overturning nearly 100 cases

Aftermath

LAPD chief Benard Parks established a Board of Inquiry, consisting of L.A.P.D. command staff, to examine management shortcomings and investigate the extent of the corruption scandal. The board's report, released in March 2000, concluded that it was “ lax departmental management for allowing misconduct within the Rampart Division to occur.”

In the following month, CRASH was disbanded in place of new anti-gang units. The Police Commission formed the Rampart Independent Review Panel, which issued a report criticizing the LAPD needs better and more supervised officers, also detailing that the LAPD obstructs the investigations of officer-involved incidents.

The Los Angeles City Council approved a consent decree with a vote of 10 to 2, which permits a federal judge, representing the U.S. Department of Justice, to oversee and implement reforms within the Los Angeles Police Department (L.A.P.D.) for a duration of five years.

By consenting to this decree, the Justice Department, which had been investigating the L.A.P.D. for excessive force violations since 1996, agreed to refrain from filing a civil rights lawsuit against the city. Initially, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and L.A.P.D. Chief Bernard Parks expressed opposition to the consent decree, however, ultimately conceded when it became evident that the city council was in favor of it. In November 2020, Mayor Riordan officially signed the consent decree.