ABSTRACT
Although there is ample evidence generated by the media and other second-hand sources outside of the organization suggesting that a meltdown must have occurred following the Rodney King incident, evidence of a deep and widespread internal breakdown of the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) organizational functioning during this time period has never been presented. Meltdowns within organizations can be either far-reaching or restricted to various subunits within an organization. In the latter case, a small group of officers may express discontent and make it seem to the outside world that all officers share in their negative views toward their work environment. This chapter presents comments of nearly all officers, suggesting that the effects of the meltdown had an endemic effect that spread throughout the entire LAPD organization and perhaps was instrumental in killing the professional policing model.
