In Los Angeles, The Los Angeles Times reported that a sergeant, a lieutenant, and two officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Recruiting Employment Division have been sent home and have had their police powers taken away while an internal affairs probe into alleged racist and sexist comments takes place.
The Times talked to people who knew about the event and said that sending police officers to people’s homes without giving them police powers during an investigation is only done for the worst crimes.
One source who spoke to the outlet without giving their name because they weren’t allowed to talk about the specifics of the investigation said that the claimed comments were shocking and rude.
Two more sources told The Times that the claimed offensive comments happened while the officers were talking about female recruits, but neither would say more about what they said.
The claims and probe happen at a time when the LAPD is having a hard time hiring people before the Olympics and the World Cup.
According to The Times, Jim McDonnell, the new chief of police in Los Angeles, has made it clear that the department has staffing problems. He said that there were 1,200 fewer cops on the force when he took over 15 years ago.
Now, the probe into the alleged crimes of the four supervising officers could look into the candidates they recently chose to hire and turned down.
According to L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, adding more police officers to the LAPD is a top concern for the safety of our city. “So, this behavior is especially ludicrous and wrong.”
The mayor also said that she and Chief McDonnell are working together to “fix the hiring and recruiting process and make sure that officers stuck in the past don’t bring down the badge for everyone else.”
Alleged racist, sexist remarks get 4 L.A. police officers benched during investigation.
