by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright July 13, 2002
All Rights Reserved.

t was "déjà vu all over again" when 27-year-old amateur videographer Mitchell Crooks taped what looked like another Rodney King incident at an Inglewood gas station. King's 1991 beating in Sylmar by an angry mob of LAPD officers shocked the nation, but was conveniently explained away as "necessary force." Officers' acquittal in predominantly white Simi Valley on charges of police brutality sparked the 1992 LA riots. Crooks taped white Inglewood police officer Jeremy J. Morse slamming the head of handcuffed suspect 16-year-old Donovan Jackson on the trunk of Morse's squad car. What Crooks missed on tape was Morse's partner, Officer Bijan Darvish, punching the teenager twice in the face before Donovan lashed out, according to a freshly released incident report signed by Morse and Darvish. According to police accounts, Jackson's father, Coby Chavis Jr., was "routinely" stopped and questioned by two Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies while filling his 1997 Ford Taurus at the pumps.

      When his son returned from the convenience store eating potato chips, Jackson observed his father getting questioned, became alarmed and then got pulled into a fracas. "I just thought it was standard procedure; I thought it was normal in Los Angeles," said Crooks, expressing cynicism about life in the big city. Though police deny that race was a factor, it's not routine to stop motorists for expired tags in affluent areas. Expired registrations are typically noticed only after stops for conspicuous moving or equipment violations. Stopping motorists for expired tags, while legal, raises suspicions about racial profiling. "Race had nothing to do with the stop. We are prohibited from stopping people based on race," said Sheriff's Deputy Steve Jauch, denying that deputies Deeley and Lopez racially profiled. But what Crook's caught on videotape concerns activists far more than racial profiling. Police brutality hit the headlines with Rodney King. Since then, police misconduct climaxed with the LAPD Rampart scandal, resulting in the Justice Department consent decree in 2000.

      What made the Rodney King incident so scandalous was the gruesome imagery and failure by arresting officers to document King's savage beating. While Jackson's beating documents some of Morse and Darvish's misconduct, plenty of excuses now circulate. Five days after the incident, Morse floated a new explanation, claiming he was forced to punch Jackson when the teenager grabbed his crotch. Then Darvish got into the act, excusing himself for punching Jackson in the face because he grabbed his shirt. During the first 5 days after the story broke, Morse never mentioned the groin-grabbing incident. Only after he was placed on paid leave and retained attorney John Barnett, did the crotching-squeezing excuse begin. "I don't know whether [Jackson] grabbed him or not," said Inglewood mayor Roosevelt Dorn. "But if he did, does that justify what happened before he grabbed his testicles?" expressing doubt about the officers' excuses. No matter how you cut it, body slamming and punching suspects in the face aren't acceptable police practices.

      Comparisons to Rodney King rekindled open wounds. "We want this police officer fired and prosecuted," said Najee Ali, a community activist with Islamic Project HOPE. "This another Rodney King beating . . ." News coverage was fast and furious, saturating airwaves with Crook's videotape. While Inglewood Mayor Dorn downplayed parallels to Rodney King, the videotape raised festering pockets of racism. "I don't think there is a modicum of comparison between this and the Rodney King case, and I am very familiar with the Rodney King case," said Inglewood Police Chief Ron Banks, proving, if nothing else, that it's time for Inglewood to join LAPD's consent decree. You don't have to be a brain surgeon to figure this out. Excessive force and police brutality with white police officers and Black victims opens the door to easy comparisons. But perhaps the most compelling reason stems from the lame excuses: Both King and Jackson required baton blows, kicks, body slams and pummeling.

      Confirming his worst nightmare, amateur videographer and professional DJ Mitchell Crooks was arrested by LAPD for outstanding warrants in Placer County. He reluctantly appeared at the grand jury to turn over his videotape and answer questions. According to authorities, had Crooks appeared quickly, he would have been spared the background check and arrest. "Let's put it this way: Had we been able to secure his presence on the first day, the second day or even the third day, we wouldn't have even known about the warrants," said Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Curt Livesay, admitting that the police got even. Obviously, Crooks knew he faced certain risks. But, dealing from the bottom of the deck, the DA could have overlooked Crooks prior bench warrants. The "hero of Inglewood" now sits in the Placer County Jail, though Project Islamic HOPE promises to bail him out.

      Routine traffic stops don't usually involve checking expired vehicle registrations. Nor does everyday police tactics call for body slamming and punching uncooperative suspects. Convenient excuses for police brutality and excessive force turn back the clock on past reforms on egregious practices. Law enforcement agencies must stop making excuses and renounce, without reservation, tactics that violate both civil liberties and common sense. Morse's conduct goes beyond the pale regardless of circumstances. "The officer was being physically and unnecessarily abusive to that boy. There is no amount of fact that would justify what the officer did," said police abuse attorney Thomas E. Beck, rejecting claims that circumstances justified Morse's conduct. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft was right sending the Justice Department's chief civil rights prosecutor Ralph Boyd to investigate the Inglewood incident. If Jackson doesn't qualify as racially motivated police abuse then nothing does. As much as we all hate to admit it, the Inglewood case reminds everyone civil rights is still a work in progress

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in the news. He's a consultant and expert in strategic communication. He's author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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