LAPD 'Biased Policing' Claims Up As Chief Beck Vows Transparency In Wake Of Dorner

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck

Chief Charlie Beck has vowed that his department will conduct a thorough review Dorner's firing, one widely believed to have triggered his psychotic reign of terror earlier this month. In the meantime, Beck is set to present the latest "biased policing" statistics to the L.A. Police Commission this morning:

The numbers include 266 complaints and 486 allegations in cases the department has closed in 2012. Those compare to 249 complaints and 479 allegations for 2011.

The chief's report notes that "only seven" of those 266 complaints last year were for "ethnic remarks" by officers: The biggest portion of complaints concerned "discourtesy."

What's more, the top cop says, a vast majority of allegations, 82.5 percent worth, were found to have been "unfounded" by the department's own internal inquiries.

Anti-LAPD protester in support of Dorner's allegations shot by Ted Soqui for LA Weekly

Of course, you might have a problem with the police policing the police. Certainly some folks in the African American community do.

Black citizens comprised the largest number of 2012 complainants -- nearly 63 percent worth in 2012, according to the chief's report: That number is also up from the two previous years and represents a 3 percentage-point increase since 2010.

For some frame of reference, L.A. county's African American segment makes up slightly more than 9 percent of the population.

Most of the complaints were aimed at cops in the Hollywood, Olympic, Valley Traffic, Central and 77th Street divisions, according to the chief's stats.

As some African American leaders expressed concern about allegations raised in Dorner's apparent manifesto, Beck was quick to reach out and say that "I want to make sure we don't undo" strides made by the department in the community.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]