• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

UC Riverside UC Riverside Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title On the Thin Blue Line: Examining the Mexican American Officer Experience in the Los Angeles Police Department Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/15w908g6 Author Gallardo, Roberto Carlos Publication Date 2018 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE On The Thin Blue Line: Examining the Mexican American Officer Experience in the Los Angeles Police Department A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology by Roberto Gallardo September 2018 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Adalberto Aguirre, Chairperson Dr. Tanya Nieri Dr. Augustine Kposowa Copyright by Roberto Gallardo 2018 The Dissertation of Roberto Gallardo is approved: __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Committee Chairperson University of California, Riverside ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION On The Thin Blue Line: Examining the Mexican American Officer Experience in the Los Angeles Police Department by Roberto Gallardo Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in Sociology University of California, Riverside, September 2018 Dr. Adalberto Aguirre, Chairperson This study focuses on the impact of race on Mexican­American minority law enforcement officers’ ideology and experiences in the LAPD. Previous studies have focused on the issue of race within a municipal police department, however these studies have generally not included Hispanic/Latino officers. Most research has strictly focused on the impact of race on White and African­American officers, the impact of race on Hispanic/Latino officers (and especially Mexican­American officers) is relatively unknown. Interviews of Mexican­American officers were used gain the information required for analysis. The study finds that using a binary view of race, respondents understand and interpret interactions with other officers under a color blind ideology. Respondents also understand racism and discrimination as strictly an overt action or response. This is influenced by their occupational culture, their own history, and negative interactions with the community. iv Table of Contents I. Chapter 1: Introduction A. Introduction……………………………………...………………….……..1 B. The Thin Blue Line: Us v Us? …………………….……………………..6 C. What Do We Know About Minorities in Policing?.....................................7 D. Minorities in a Minority­Majority Department……………..……………..8 E. Why Does it Matter?…………….……………………………………….10 F. Chapter Outlines………………………………………………………....11 II. Chapter 2:Background I History, Policing, and the LAPD A. Roots of Modern Police Practices………….……………………...……..13 B. Police Culture………………………………………………………… …23 C. Latinos in Law Enforcement……………… …………………………….28 D. State and Local…………………………………………...……………....31 E. Local Police Departments…..……………………………………………33 F. Racial Composition of Los Angeles and the LAPD Today……………...33 III. Chapter 3:Background II Minorities and the LAPD A. Hispanic/Latinos and the LAPD…………………………….…………...35 B. The Early Period…….…...……………………………………………....36 C. Mexican Activism……………………………………………………….40 D. Deportations and Labor………………...…………….…………………..42 E. Mexican Americans & Mexican American Youth…………………..…...43 v F. Sleepy Lagoon…………………………………………………………...44 G. 1943 Los Angeles………………………………………………………..45 H. Bloody Christmas and Police Brutality………....………………………..47 I. LAPD,Social Movements, and an Escalating Tension…………………..51 J. Lawsuits, Professional Minority Recruiting, and an increase in Tension..57 K. Can’t We All Just Get Along?....................................................................59 L. California’s Political Climate…...…………...…………………………...66 M. CRASHing Rampart …...………………………………………………..67 N. 2007 MaCarthur Park…………………………………...………………..69 O. The Dorner Incident……………………………………...……………....69 IV. Chapter 4: Review of the Research Literature A. Early Minority Officers……………………………...…………………...72 B. Minority Experiences in Policing ...…………………...………………...75 C. Why Research On Latino Police?..............................................................85 D. Mexican American Officers………………………………...…………....91 V. Chapter 5:Theoretical Framework A. Contemporary Race Theory……………………………………………...94 B. Racial Formation Theory………………………………………………...96 C. Racism…………………………...…………………………………….....98 D. Aren’t All Minorities the Same?..............................................................100 E. A Latino Threat Narrative……………………………………………....103 vi F. Committing to the Narrative …………………………………………...108 VI. Chapter 6: Methodology A. Recruitment……………………………………………………………..111 B. Sample………………………………………………………………......114 C. Pre­Interview Procedures……………………………………………….115 D. Building Rapport with Participants…...………………………………...116 E. Interviews…………………………………………………………….....120 F. Coding and Data………………………………………………………..123 VII. Chapter 7:Results A. Self Identification……………………………….……………………....125 B. Motivations for Becoming a Police Officer…………………...………..128 C. Academy Training….…………………………………………………...140 D. Culture……………………………………………………………….….143 E. Blue ID……………………………………………………………….....146 F. Retaliation……………………………………………………………....148 G. Race Based Effect……………………………………………………....152 H. Promotions……………………………………………………………...156 I. Racism & Discrimination……………………………………………....165 J. The Community………………………………………………………...171 VIII. Chapter 8: Analysis and Discussion A. Self Identification………………………………………………………181 vii B. Motivations……………………………………………………………..185 C. Culture…………………………………………………………………..190 D. Blue ID……………………………………………………………….....193 E. Promotions……………………………………………………………...195 F. Racism & Discrimination……………………………………………....198 G. The Community………………………………………………………...202 IX. Chapter 9: Conclusion & Future Directions A. Conclusion……………………………………………..…………….....207 B. Interest Convergence…………………………………………………...213 C. Future Directions ……………………………………………………... 215 X. Work Cited & Bibliography ……...…………………………………………...217 viii CHAPTER 1:Introduction Introduction On August 9th 2014, a pair of unarmed African American teenagers were stopped by Officer Darren Wilson in possible connection with a local convenience store robbery. The officer was searching for two suspects who were accused of stealing cigarettes from the store earlier in the day. The teenagers were initially walking in the street as Officer Wilson approached in his vehicle. At a point in the interaction, a struggle ensued and shots were fired. While both teens ran, Wilson then encountered one of the juveniles with his weapon drawn. Officer Wilson proceeded to fire his weapon several times. That teen, Michael Brown, 18, was shot and killed by Officer Wilson on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. What actually happened during the incident which ended with the death of Brown, was widely disputed by witnesses on the scene and Officer Wilson himself. In the official report of the incident, Wilson claimed that Brown reached for the officer’s weapon when he approached him in the street. Where the initial shots rang out, the suspects ran, and Wilson took chase after Brown. According to Wilson, Brown stopped running, turned around and charged at him with malicious intent. Feeling he had no other choice, Wilson fired at Brown several times. The last of the 12 shots fired by Wilson proved to be the fatal shot. Brown was unarmed at the time (Department of Justice 2015). Initial reports from eyewitnesses on the scene painted a different picture than what Wilson, and later, what the official report stated. Some witnesses stated that Brown did not charge at Wilson, but instead had his arms up when he was shot. The Department 1 of Justice concluded later that the witnesses who claimed that Brown had his hands up could not be considered ‘credible’ (This included the other teenager who ran from the scene). The other teenager at the scene painted a different picture than the official testimony and investigation. Dorian Johnson, a friend of Brown, gave his account of the incident. Johnson said the two were approached by Officer Brown as they were walking in the street. Wilson pulled up to them and said, “Get the fuck on the sidewalk?” They replied that they were almost to where they were going and that they would soon be out of the street. Wilson then blocked the young men with his vehicle and attempted to open the door but was hindered by Johnson and Brown, who were simply standing there. The door closed on the officer, and Wilson then proceeded to grab Brown from the neck through the window. Brown attempted to escape the grasp, all while never reaching for the officer’s weapon. Wilson drew his firearm and said “ I’ll shoot you” and purposely discharged his weapon hitting Brown in the arm. Brown was able to free himself and the two teens attempted to flee. Wilson then shot at Brown as he was running away. Brown then stopped and turned around with hands up, but not completely because he had been hit. Johnson claimed Brown said “I don’t have a gun” and tried to repeat the sentence but was shot several times. Johnson maintained that Brown never attempted to run at Officer Wilson (Department of Justice 2015). The national media caught wind of the incident when the details of the shooting became public. The fact that Brown was unarmed, and that some witnesses claimed that he raised his hands to give up, and that the officer proceeded to shoot him, sparked 2 further

Load more

  235

Copy Link