The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners announced Tuesday, June 17, that it will investigate complaints made by members of the public and media about LAPD conduct during recent anti-ICE protests across the city.
“Like so many of you, we have watched extensive coverage of protests, evening unrest, and the many interactions of members of the public and the media with LAPD officers,” commission President Erroll G. Southers said at the commission’s regular meeting. “Although most interactions were uneventful and without note, there are some that we have seen that are of concern.”
The announcement came one day after the Los Angeles Press Club and Status Coup, an investigative reporting network, filed a lawsuit against the LAPD. The suit alleges officers used excessive force against reporters, including deploying so-called “less-lethal” munitions such as rubber bullets, while journalists were covering the demonstrations.
Southers acknowledged that discipline for police misconduct is subject to complex procedures.
“Neither the commission nor the chief of police have the authority to immediately terminate officers,” he said. “That said, these complaints will be investigated with discipline applied when and where appropriate.”
Inspector General Matthew Barragan confirmed that his office is reviewing all serious uses of force by LAPD officers and continues to serve as a point of contact for misconduct complaints, which can be submitted anonymously.
Commission Vice President Rasha Gerges Shields said it was frustrating that the department was often judged not by the many hours of restraint shown by officers, but by a few video clips repeatedly shown without full context.
“To be clear, there will be a full investigation and accountability into these isolated incidents, but they should not overshadow the tremendous work done by so many of you in the department throughout the last several days, to control chaos that was not of your making,” Shields said.
Shields expressed sympathy for those who protested peacefully, saying their efforts were undermined by a small number of agitators.
“People are understandably outraged and hurt by these ongoing immigration raids,” she said. “The shock and awe is a political stunt that uses our military and law enforcement partners as political pawns to create unnecessary fear and terror in citizens and non-citizens alike.”
Southers also clarified that the commission’s inability to comment more thoroughly on the allegations during the meeting should not be interpreted as passivity.
“I want to state that a lack of a robust response today does not indicate an absolution of this behavior,” he said. “Rather, it is respect for the duties prescribed to this commission and the oath of office that each commissioner swore to uphold.”
But media representatives remain skeptical that any real accountability will follow.
“They’ve been investigating themselves for decades. Very rarely, if ever, does that result in discipline,” said Adam Rose, spokesman for the Los Angeles Press Club. “There is an overwhelming pattern of negligence and inability of police to police themselves.”
Rose added that while he sympathizes with officers facing dangerous and chaotic situations, he believes the training they received — particularly for managing high-stress environments like protests — was inadequate.