LAPD Chief Lauds Progress in Serving 'Those Without a Voice'

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck stood before an audience of law enforcement officials and civil rights activists at the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens on Thursday when he made a somewhat surprising concession about the origin of the police force he now heads.

"Over the last century, major metropolitan police agencies were formed, organized, tasked with the protection of those who had a huge stake in society. We were seen as strike-breakers, we were seen as people that held the line between the masses and the elite," Beck said during his address at the Department's 4th annual César Chávez Luncheon.

However, the tide has gradually changed over the last 50 years, due in large part to the man the ample crowd had gathered in Cypress Park to celebrate.

"César Chávez, his legacy is a representation of those who have a small voice, the representation of those who want to move from the fringes of society to the center of society. And that's how I see the role of the Los Angeles Police Department," Beck said.

"That's why I've taken the stance that I've taken on immigration. That's why we police the toughest areas of our city with the most vigor. That's why we work in the most impoverished areas with the most progressive programs. Because I truly believe that the police department's role is to protect the same folks who had the compassion of César Chávez—those without a voice. Those who want to move from the fringes to the center. People who need good policing, not just a way to protect what they have, but as a way to ensure a path to what they can get."

Among those who attended Thursday's event, there seemed to be a consensus that LAPD had indeed moved in the right direction.

Anjelica Salas, executive director for the Coalition for Human Immigration Rights of Los Angeles, said that there was cause to celebrate an "ever-growing partnership between this department and the immigrant community."

Salas continued, saying that direction from federal authorities to increase law enforcement crackdowns on undocumented immigrants had no interfered with LAPD's effort to ensure the safety of the entire city, regardless of residency status.

"There is clarity, that the intention of the Los Angeles Police Department is to ensure that immigrants, independent of their immigration status, are protected from crime and are partners in creating real, safe communities," she said. 

The LAPD's reputation as enforcers for the city's elite is not unearned. In the 1960s, the department's institutional discrimination culminated in the Watts riots. In 1992, Los Angeles rioting erupted again after four LAPD officers, who were captured on video brutally beating an African American motorist named Rodney King, were acquitted on assault charges.

Simmering distrust of law enforcement boiled over on social media in February when former LAPD Officer Christopher Dorner, an African American man, went on a killing spree across the Southland, apparently fueled by frustrations of discrimination he claimed to have faced while employed by the department.

Facebook pages appeared to support Dorner's message that the LAPD was still an agent of oppression.

One Highland Park-Mount Washington reader, Anthony J. Rodriguez, stated simply, "Mas Pendejadas," in response to a post about Beck's comments.

Fernando Vasquez, son of Alfredo Vasquez, one of Chávez's longtime bodyguards, said he has witnessed the improvements touted by Beck.

"There's more to go, but I think Chief Beck is responsible for the most recent progress, not only taking care of some of the internal problems, but also publicly espousing support for the community, and that helps," Vasquez said.