LAPD says no merit in racial profiling charges

LAPD officials said that after an investigation of more than 300 complaints of racial profiling, none were found to have merit.
It is the sixth consecutive year that all allegations of racial profiling against the Los Angeles Police Department officers have been dismissed.
The LAPD’s Internal Affairs Group closed 320 investigations in 2007. The allegations claim that officers stopped, questioned or otherwise confronted someone because of a person’s race.
In 252 cases-nearly 80 percent-the claims were dismissed as outright “unfounded,” according to an annual report presented Tuesday to the civilian Police Commission. In the remaining cases, there was either insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion or no misconduct was uncovered.
Police Commissioner John Mack expressed his frustration about the findings. “A big, fat zero,” he said. “In my mind, there is no such thing as a perfect institution…I find it baffling that we have these zeros.”