Turning Anger to Power

Without community protests over the shooting death of 13-year-old Devin Brown, the Los Angeles Police Department might still be mulling over its policy on firing at moving cars. The policy change -- in the works for nearly a year -- further limits the circumstances under which officers can fire.

It’s a prudent change, one that merely brings the LAPD in line with big-city forces across the country. It was hastily drafted and adopted last week only because Mayor James K. Hahn felt the pressure of rising fury swirling through South Los Angeles.

City officials cannot afford to be seen as indifferent to the community’s anger over the death of young Devin, shot by police after he led officers on a brief predawn chase, then backed his car into a police cruiser. The incident spawned two weeks of protests, rallies and community meetings, and virulent denunciations of the LAPD.

The fury directed at police may seem out of proportion to outsiders. Certainly the officer did not know a young boy was behind the wheel. The teenager was breaking the law, out at 4 a.m. in a stolen car.

But for many in South Los Angeles -- and many African Americans across the city -- his death is one more symbol of a law enforcement and justice system that seems to place less value on the lives of blacks. It is seen in the context of earlier incidents: juries’ failure in two trials to convict an Inglewood policeman caught on videotape in 2002 slamming a black youth against a car. The officer was fired, but a civil court jury considered that too harsh and awarded him $1.6 million.

Then, earlier this month, the Los Angeles district attorney declined to prosecute an LAPD officer who used a flashlight to beat a black car thief during an arrest filmed by news crews and played on TV.

Different circumstances, different police agencies, different culprits. But to many, the incidents delivered a single message: Society says that you don’t count. The rules of fair treatment by police don’t apply to young black males.

After the Inglewood trials, community leaders walked the streets to keep residents calm and dialogue flowing. Anger bubbled up, then receded. But each subsequent incident fuels a drop in community confidence in the court system and police. That sort of wholesale disengagement can presage violence.

Now the peacemakers are at it again. Ministers, gang workers, community activists and elected officials are trying to channel anger into activism, to push for better youth services, more cooperation among neighbors and a continuing dialogue with police. Their efforts should be encouraged, not feared or disparaged.