Almost by accident I ended up watching Frontline’s documentary about the Ramparts scandal within the LAPD, LAPD Blues. I really can’t recommend this show more highly.
Given Frontline’s usual left-ish tilt I expected an hours worth of cop bashing, but the producers actually did an excellent job of objectively looking at the evidence and reported some things I hadn’t heard elsewhere about the scandal.
One of the more disturbing aspects of the broadcast, which Frontline unfortunately chose not to explore further, was whether or not the illegal tactics used by the Ramparts division actually lowered the level of crime or not. Frontline noted that the number of murders in Los Angeles had more than doubled since the Ramparts scandal and the resulting consent decree the LAPD was forced to enter into.
Moreover, when the scandal was really at its height, there were some police officers and others concerned that although they had been sent to jail on false testimony, that many of the people being released as a result of the testimony of one of the Ramparts officers were hardcore gang members who would quickly fall back into a life of crime.
Oddly enough that seems to have happened to the scandal’s poster boy, Javier Ovando. Ovando was shot and paralyzed by two cops who then planted a weapon at the scene and falsely testified that Ovando was armed and had brandished his weapon. When the truth came out, Ovando was freed and his lawyer obtained a $15 million settlement with the Los Angeles. In March, Ovando was arrested on charges of marijuana and cocaine trafficking.