L.A.’s newest police commissioner elected board’s president

Less than two minutes after taking his seat as L.A.’s newest police commissioner, Matt Johnson was elected president on Tuesday of the five-member panel tasked with overseeing the LAPD.

The 47-year-old entertainment lawyer said he was “honored and humbled” to join the board, calling the Police Commission “the most important commission in the city of Los Angeles, particularly at this moment in history.”

Johnson, who is the board’s only African American member, said he would set forth specific goals “in the near future,” but said he looked forward to hearing from both the public and police officers about the LAPD.

“Our city wants and deserves an engaged police department that is equally committed to keeping our neighborhoods safe, reducing crime, constitutional policing and respecting people’s rights,” Johnson said. “Respecting rights and reducing crimes are not conflicting goals.”

Steve Soboroff, whose time as the Police Commission’s president was perhaps best known for his efforts to bring body cameras to the LAPD, was voted the panel’s vice president.

Johnson’s first Police Commission meeting was a marathon, more than five hours of discussion on LAPD operations that was at times stalled by frustrated outbursts from the audience. Even Johnson’s opening remarks were interrupted by heckling by audience members. The interruptions prompted a short recess by the board.

At one point, commissioners told police to clear the audience from the room. Attendees were allowed back in, except for at least two people deemed disruptive by the board.

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The commissioners heard a series of reports: a review of the LAPD’s reserve officer program, an update on the LAPD’s attempts to reduce officer traffic collisions, and the latest information about investigations into complaints of biased policing--the police term for racial or ethnic profiling.

Several commissioners raised questions about how the LAPD handles allegations of biased policing. According to the department’s report, no officer has been found guilty of biased policing in any of the hundreds of allegations investigated since 2012.

Commissioner Robert Saltzman questioned the results, noting that studies have found that at least 40% of black or Latino men complain that they have been victims of racial profiling.

“For us to be at zero...I just find it difficult to reconcile these numbers,” he said.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said the department treats such allegations seriously, but he said it was difficult to determine what an officer was thinking when he or she developed the reasonable suspicion needed to stop someone.

Johnson said the figures highlighted the importance of officer training.

“It’s not that these things aren’t happening, it’s that they are very difficult to prove,” he said. “So the more emphasis we can put on training our officers so that this is happening less, the better.”

Johnson told The Times before Tuesday’s meeting that he wanted to take a fresh look at how LAPD officers are trained, particularly when interacting with people who confront police with knives. He also stressed the importance of building relationships between officers and residents, and better understanding the rising violent crime the city has seen this year.

“I’m sure that there are lots of things that can be done better,” he said. “We always have to have a culture of trying to improve.”

Outside the meeting, Beck said he looked forward to working with the new commissioner. Beck called Johnson a thoughtful person with a “tremendous reputation.”

“I think he is going to bring a fresh perspective and not only that, but a lot of leadership to the commission,” Beck said. “Having him here will make a change for the better.”

Follow @katemather for more LAPD news.

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