Remarks by LAPD Chief Bratton Still Reverberating
Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton's apology July 3 for making remarks criticized as offensive to blacks did little to quell outrage directed at the Police Department at a town hall meeting held Saturday by an ad hoc citizens commission in Leimert Park. The discussion began with a video clip of a June 30 City Council meeting in which Councilman Bernard C. Parks asked Bratton to respond to claims that the chief had used words such as "tribal," "thugs" and "terrorists" to describe minorities. A spokeswoman for Bratton later said the chief was using the words only to describe gang members. [more]