[POWER COMMUNITY]
THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO REVIEW LAPD
FOR AN ALLEGED MISUSE OF CALGANG DATABASE
T
he California Department of Justice is reviewing the Los Angeles Police Department’s records and policies regarding the use of state’s gang member database after allegations emerged that the officers in an elite crime suppression team falsified records and listed innocent people as gang members.
The LAPD uses the database more than any other agency and according to the AG’s office, at least 20 members of the department’s Metropolitan Division are under investigations after the authorities found discrepancies on-field interview cards that police officers fill out after stopping and questioning
people. The AG’s office has presented the case to LA county prosecutors for possible criminal charges. Mr. Sanders describes how the police officer responded to a report of disorderly behavior at a park near his South Central LA house where he was hanging out. While the officer
CalGang is a California database intended to identify and to track gang members and in the past, it has come under scrutiny after several allegations of misuse by the LAPD. one of the innocent people victimized by the database is Larry Sanders who is a singer-songwriter best known for singing the hook on the hit song “Gangsters Paradise.” Sanders also works as a gang interventionist. The Attorney General Xavier Becerra could revoke or even suspend the department’s access to the database. CalGang is a criminal intelligence compilation of 80,000 gang members and known associates statewide used by the local, state, federal and tribunal law enforcement to share information. 98
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THE POWER IS NOW MAGAZINE | MARCH 2020
