After Miller Beating LAPD flashlight ban rejected

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  • Simpletons think Flashlights are the problem - Not Racist LAPD Cops
  • 6 Months Later No Officers held Accountable for Miller Beating Caught on Videotape
After months of debate over an officer caught on videotape hitting a suspect with a flashlight, Los Angeles police commissioners voted Tuesday to discourage officers from using flashlights as weapons. The police stems from the June 23, 2004, beating of car-theft suspect Stanley Miller by a flashlight-wielding LAPD officer in Compton. The commission rejected a call from John Mack, the president of the Los Angeles Urban League, to prohibit the use of flashlights as weapons in all circumstances. Mack, who was appointed by Mayor James Hahn to head a committee investigating the Miller beating, argued that a full ban would lead to fewer possible abuses. "The flashlight is for illumination, not for the purpose of beating someone over the body," Mack said. But LAPD leaders and police commissioners said officers still should be able to use flashlights for self-defense when no other tools were available. "In the practical world of an officer on the street, I would like not to use the word 'prohibited,"' said Police Commissioner Alan Skobin. LAPD Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell said a message could be sent to officers without prohibiting flashlight use. [more]