Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums
Encyclopedia
Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums, usually known by the acronym C.R.A.S.H., was an elite, but controversial special operations unit of the Los Angeles Police Department
. It was established by then-chief Daryl Gates
to combat the rising problem of gangs in Los Angeles
, California
. Each of the 18 LAPD divisions had a CRASH unit assigned to it whose primary goal was to suppress the influx of gang-related crimes in Los Angeles that came about primarily due to the increase in narcotic
s trade.
In addition to gang-related crime prevention, CRASH officers also had to obtain information about a specific gang that was assigned to them and relay that information between districts. The CRASH officer's "freedom of movement and activity" and "gung-ho" nature has led some of them to incite controversy among themselves and the whole CRASH unit.
In March 2000, CRASH was gradually diminished and replaced with a similar anti-gang unit. This unit's minimum requirements for enlistment are higher than was CRASH's, requiring recruits to have a sufficiently high amount of experience and a low number of personnel complaints. Major categories of crime offenses and attempted crimes in 2000 in Los Angeles increased over those of the previous year, when CRASH was at full staff. In the 1980s, gang violence began to increase dramatically as a result of the drug trade (specifically the introduction of crack cocaine).
. As a result of increasing gang violence and a drive-by killing resulting in the deaths of seven people, then-Chief of Police Daryl Gates
responded by sending CRASH officers to arrest suspected gang members. At the height of this operation in April 1988, 1,453 people were arrested by one thousand police officers in a single weekend. While considered successful by some, this operation and the LAPD were maligned with accusations of racism
; some believed that Operation Hammer heavily employed racial profiling
, targeting African-American and Hispanic
youths that were labelled as "urban terrorists" and "ruthless killers." However, proponents of the operation counter that it was not discriminatory as each gang member arrested had warrant
s for their arrests.
.
On February 26, 1998, CRASH officer Brian Hewitt from Rampart was suspended and later stripped of his job when allegations arose of a cover-up
of the beating and asphyxia
tion of an 18th Street gang
member. Officer Brian Hewitt was accused of choking the gang member
in an interview room when the suspect refused to provide evidence of gang activities. When the gang member reported his beating at a hospital, evidence, including blood in the interview room, implicated Hewitt who was terminated at a Board of Rights hearing.
In August 1998, the same month that Chief Bernard Parks claimed that the Christopher Commission
reforms were "essentially complete", officer Rafael Pérez
, a nine-year veteran of the department, was arrested on charges of stealing six pounds (≈three kilograms) of cocaine
from LAPD's Property Division. Pérez was initially tried on one count of possession of cocaine for sale, grand theft
and forgery
each. After a mistrial on December 7 of that year, more reports of cocaine theft by Pérez arose. In September 1999, in exchange for partial immunity from prosecution, he testified about a pattern of abuse and misconduct that threatened to overturn thousands of criminal convictions, accusing about seventy fellow CRASH officers.
As part of his plea bargain, Pérez implicated scores of officers from the Rampart Division's anti-gang unit, describing routinely beating gang members, planting evidence on suspects, falsifying reports and covering up unprovoked shootings.
As of May 2001, the Rampart investigation had brought 58 officers before an internal administrative board. Of these, 12 were suspended, seven resigned, and five were terminated.
These events are sometimes referred to as the Rampart scandal
. The State Librarian, Kevin Starr
, in discussing this sordid episode, wrote that "CRASH ... became, in effect, the most badass gang in the city."
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
. It was established by then-chief Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992.-Early life:...
to combat the rising problem of gangs in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Each of the 18 LAPD divisions had a CRASH unit assigned to it whose primary goal was to suppress the influx of gang-related crimes in Los Angeles that came about primarily due to the increase in narcotic
Narcotic
The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with any sleep-inducing properties. In the United States of America it has since become associated with opioids, commonly morphine and heroin and their derivatives, such as hydrocodone. The term is, today, imprecisely...
s trade.
In addition to gang-related crime prevention, CRASH officers also had to obtain information about a specific gang that was assigned to them and relay that information between districts. The CRASH officer's "freedom of movement and activity" and "gung-ho" nature has led some of them to incite controversy among themselves and the whole CRASH unit.
In March 2000, CRASH was gradually diminished and replaced with a similar anti-gang unit. This unit's minimum requirements for enlistment are higher than was CRASH's, requiring recruits to have a sufficiently high amount of experience and a low number of personnel complaints. Major categories of crime offenses and attempted crimes in 2000 in Los Angeles increased over those of the previous year, when CRASH was at full staff. In the 1980s, gang violence began to increase dramatically as a result of the drug trade (specifically the introduction of crack cocaine).
Operation Hammer
Operation Hammer was a CRASH-led initiative that began in 1987 to crack down on gang violence in South Central Los AngelesSouth Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A. and formerly South Central Los Angeles, is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central, and is still widely known...
. As a result of increasing gang violence and a drive-by killing resulting in the deaths of seven people, then-Chief of Police Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992.-Early life:...
responded by sending CRASH officers to arrest suspected gang members. At the height of this operation in April 1988, 1,453 people were arrested by one thousand police officers in a single weekend. While considered successful by some, this operation and the LAPD were maligned with accusations of racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
; some believed that Operation Hammer heavily employed racial profiling
Racial profiling
Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement...
, targeting African-American and Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
youths that were labelled as "urban terrorists" and "ruthless killers." However, proponents of the operation counter that it was not discriminatory as each gang member arrested had warrant
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
s for their arrests.
Rampart CRASH scandal
Every LAPD patrol division had a CRASH unit stationed in it. One of the most prominent CRASH units was stationed in the Rampart DivisionLAPD Rampart Division
The Rampart Division of the Los Angeles Police Department serves communities to the west and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles including Echo Park, Pico-Union and Westlake, all together designated as the Rampart patrol area. Its name is derived from Rampart Boulevard, one of the principal...
.
On February 26, 1998, CRASH officer Brian Hewitt from Rampart was suspended and later stripped of his job when allegations arose of a cover-up
Cover-up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrong-doing, error, incompetence or other embarrassing information...
of the beating and asphyxia
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
tion of an 18th Street gang
18th Street gang
18th Street gang is considered to be the largest transnational criminal gang in Los Angeles, California. It is estimated that there are thousands of members in Los Angeles County alone...
member. Officer Brian Hewitt was accused of choking the gang member
Javier Ovando
Javier Francisco Ovando , is a Honduran man who became a central figure in the LAPD Rampart Scandal when he was shot and framed by corrupt Rampart officers Rafael Pérez and Nino Durden. Ovando is an immigrant and a former member of the powerful 18th Street Gang...
in an interview room when the suspect refused to provide evidence of gang activities. When the gang member reported his beating at a hospital, evidence, including blood in the interview room, implicated Hewitt who was terminated at a Board of Rights hearing.
In August 1998, the same month that Chief Bernard Parks claimed that the Christopher Commission
Christopher Commission
The Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, informally known as the Christopher Commission, was formed in July 1991, in the wake of the Rodney King beating, by then-mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley. It was chaired by attorney Warren Christopher...
reforms were "essentially complete", officer Rafael Pérez
Rafael Pérez (police officer)
Rafael Antonio "Ray" Pérez , is a former Los Angeles Police Department C.R.A.S.H officer and the central figure in the LAPD Rampart Scandal. He was involved in the coverup of a $722,000 bank robbery, shot and framed Javier Ovando, and stole and resold at least $800,000 of cocaine from LAPD...
, a nine-year veteran of the department, was arrested on charges of stealing six pounds (≈three kilograms) of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
from LAPD's Property Division. Pérez was initially tried on one count of possession of cocaine for sale, grand theft
Grand theft
Grand theft or grand larceny is a category used to rank the severity of crime associated with theft.Generally, in the United States it is defined as intentional taking property of others in an amount exceeding the state statutory amount....
and forgery
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
each. After a mistrial on December 7 of that year, more reports of cocaine theft by Pérez arose. In September 1999, in exchange for partial immunity from prosecution, he testified about a pattern of abuse and misconduct that threatened to overturn thousands of criminal convictions, accusing about seventy fellow CRASH officers.
As part of his plea bargain, Pérez implicated scores of officers from the Rampart Division's anti-gang unit, describing routinely beating gang members, planting evidence on suspects, falsifying reports and covering up unprovoked shootings.
As of May 2001, the Rampart investigation had brought 58 officers before an internal administrative board. Of these, 12 were suspended, seven resigned, and five were terminated.
These events are sometimes referred to as the Rampart scandal
Rampart Scandal
The Rampart scandal refers to widespread corruption in the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums anti-gang unit of the Los Angeles Police Department Rampart Division in the late 1990s. More than 70 police officers in the CRASH unit were implicated in misconduct, making it one of the most...
. The State Librarian, Kevin Starr
Kevin Starr
Kevin Starr is an American historian, best known for his multi-volume series on the history of California, collectively called "Americans and the California Dream."-Life:Kevin Starr was born in San Francisco, California....
, in discussing this sordid episode, wrote that "CRASH ... became, in effect, the most badass gang in the city."
Media references
- The 1988 film ColorsColors (film)Colors is a 1988 police procedural crime film starring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall and directed by Dennis Hopper. The story takes place in South Central Los Angeles, and is about Bob Hodges , an experienced LAPD Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums Police Officer III, and his rookie partner,...
, starring Sean PennSean PennSean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
and Robert DuvallRobert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
, revolved around the LAPD C.R.A.S.H. unit. - The video game Grand Theft Auto: San AndreasGrand Theft Auto: San AndreasGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
depicts corrupt officers of the fictional "Los Santos Police Department" as members of the C.R.A.S.H. unit. - The cable channel FX's series The ShieldThe ShieldThe Shield is an American television drama series starring Michael Chiklis which premiered on March 12, 2002 on FX in the United States and concluded on November 25, 2008 after seven seasons...
centers on a corrupt police unit named the Strike Team, modeled after the Rampart Division's CRASH unit. One of the names originally considered for the show was "Rampart." - The exteriors of the Rampart Station were featured in the 1960s television show, Adam-12Adam-12Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
. - Rapper XzibitXzibitAlvin Nathaniel Joiner , better known by his stage name Xzibit , is an American rapper, actor, and television host. He is known as the host of the MTV show Pimp My Ride, which brought him mainstream success...
mentions the "Crooked ass cops from the Rampart District" on the song "MultiplyMultiply (song)Multiply is the third single from Xzibit's album, Man vs. Machine. The chorus is rapped by Nate Dogg.In the music video it shows Xzibit riding on a car...
". - Rapper The GameThe Game (rapper)Jayceon Terrell Taylor , better known by his stage name Game, formerly The Game, is an American rapper and actor. As a member of G-Unit, he rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his debut album, The Documentary, which earned him two Grammy Award nominations...
mentions the Rampart scandal in a song called "Start from Scratch" from his album, The DocumentaryThe DocumentaryThe Documentary is the debut studio album by West Coast rapper Game, released on January 18, 2005, through Aftermath Entertainment, G-Unit Records and Interscope Records. After recovering from a shooting in late 2001, The Game pursued a rap career and was discovered by Dr. Dre who signed him to his...
. - The films CellularCellular (film)Cellular is a 2004 thriller film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, Jason Statham and William H. Macy. The screenplay was written by Chris Morgan, Larry Cohen and J...
(2004) and DirtyDirty (film)Dirty is a 2005 crime–drama film, directed by Chris Fisher. It stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Clifton Collins, Jr.. The film had a limited release in 2005.-Plot:...
(2005) were inspired by the Rampart scandal, while Training DayTraining DayTraining Day is a 2001 crime drama film directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by David Ayer, starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. The film follows two LAPD narcotics detectives over a 24-hour period in the gang neighborhoods of South and East Los Angeles.The film was a box office success and...
(2001), written before the incident, was modified to include elements from the scandal. - In the Special Features section on the DVD version of Cellular, there is a segment on the Rampart scandal called "Code of Silence."
- Underground hip hop emcee Murs mentions his local C.R.A.S.H. unit in the song "Last Night".
- In the PC game Police Quest IV the player has to solve the murder of the main character's best friend who is a C.R.A.S.H. officer.
- Rapper and Rollin 60s Crip member Nipsey Hussle mentions the CRASH cops in many songs