Activists say LAPD hasn't kept public informed about probe of Devin Brown slaying

• Originally published in the Los Angeles Times March 23, 2005 Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times

By Richard Winton, Times Staff Writer

About two dozen community activists criticized the Los Angeles Police Department and Chief William J. Bratton on Tuesday for breaking a promise to keep the public informed about the investigation into the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Devin Brown.

"We are concerned the process is under a cloak of secrecy," said the Rev. Lewis Logan of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church at the Police Commission meeting in downtown Los Angeles.

The church is a short distance from the spot in South Los Angeles where Officer Steve Garcia fired his handgun 10 times, killing Devin on Feb. 6. "We want accountability on a weekly basis," Logan said.

Nation of Islam minister Tony Muhammad, one of more than 100 protesters, said: "The Police Department is saying it is transparent. It is not transparent. That's a lie. You cannot tell us nothing."

Bratton said he will have more to discuss publicly after an unprecedented re-creation to scale of the shooting incident. The simulation at an LAPD facility involves the use of lasers, automobiles and cameras.

"We will be in a position to talk some more about it" when the reenactment is completed, Bratton said. Garcia has been assigned to desk duty, pending the completion of the investigation, the police chief said.

After the February shooting, the LAPD held a news conference and presented diagrams outlining the police pursuit of Devin in a stolen car. Details were disclosed of radio communications about the incident, which began as officers spotted a suspected drunk driver.

The pursuit ended when the stolen car ran up onto a curb and stopped and the police cruiser pulled in behind it. Police said that the car began backing into the cruiser and that, at some point, Garcia opened fire.

But the LAPD has yet to provide a definitive explanation of Devin's fatal shooting, particularly one specifying Garcia's position when he fired the shots.

Several activists Tuesday suggested that the LAPD was protecting the officer and questioned why Garcia needed to fire repeatedly to defend himself.

Deputy Chief Michael Berkow said Garcia's location would not alone determine "whether this was a lawful, justified shooting or something else."