ABSTRACT
One of the three major areas identified within the officers’ comments as a potential direct cause of the meltdown concerned outside influences on Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from politicians, special interest groups, and selected members of the Los Angeles community. One possible explanation is that politicians, special interest groups, and other outside opponents of the LAPD simply got stronger over time in their abilities to affect the organization's policies and policing procedures. This may be especially true regarding the power and influence of the Los Angeles mayor over the position of chief of the LAPD. This chapter contains officer comments that share the common theme that LAPD's official response to outside pressure from political and community critics was either to kowtow (or “cowtow” as written by most officers) to their demands or to run scared from them without a fight.
