Growing police brutality by Los Angeles officers prompt probe

All three incidents reportedly took place during seemingly routine encounters and strangely turned into aggressive use of force initiated by police officers, The Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday.
 
Several weeks ago, a mobile phone video footage displayed four police officers tackling down a 20-year-old man they claimed was resisting arrest. One LA officer hit him in the face.
 
This week, another videotape surfaced that showed two LAPD officers in the San Fernando Valley slamming a handcuffed woman to the ground before appearing to give one another fist bumps. The female suspect, a nurse who was pulled over for using a mobile phone while driving, suffered large bruises to her face and body.
 
    However, the most serious incident emerged on Thursday, when LAPD authorities revealed that a woman had died during a confrontation in July outside her South Los Angeles home. Police said the woman had gone to a police station to drop off her children because she said she could not take care of them. Police returned to her house to arrest her on suspicion of child endangerment.
 
 
"Each incident is disturbing," said Police Commission member Richard E. Drooyan on Friday. "In each of these cases, we are talking about different places in the department with different races and genders involved."
 
Beck spent Thursday night moving through the city and talking to officers about the incidents.
 
"I was in the field last night and visited half a dozen police stations," he said. "I looked hundreds of police officers in the eye as I discussed their responsibilities. I have faith in them."
 
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said all three cases are under investigation but emphasized he does not believe they indicate a larger problem within the department.
 
"I am very concerned about several of these incidents. I am not concerned about the overall quality or character of the Los Angeles Police Department," he said. "There are 10,000 LAPD officers who do a phenomenal job in very difficult circumstances every day."
 
However, charges of excessive force, especially those caught on tape, have been a major issue in the LAPD dating to the 1991 beating of Rodney King and including the 2007 May Day melee at MacArthur Park in which officers used force on protesters as well as on some journalists.