European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 19, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                . Sings the Law enforcement blues York times Many  angelas police officers say the department is in a state of crises in the Wake of the riot. Above officers search a South Central . Home. At left a crowd is kept at  demoralized police Force becomes its own worst critic by Timothy Egan the new York times scorned in the streets of Many parts of los Angeles and laughed at by political leaders and comedians alike the los Angeles police department is a dispirited band in Blue. For the last 14 months they have been called brutes with badges. But after their delayed and hesitant response to the cry s worst riots the 8,000 officers have been labelled cowards and incompetents. In he last two weeks a sort of paralysis has set in among Many officers. The motto of the department Quot protect and serve Quot has been replaced in the minds of Many officers by Quot damned if you do damned if you Don  even the pillars of society Are taking shots at the department. A Justice on the California supreme court Armand arabian said that if the police department s response to the riots were any slower Quot we would have seen photos of policemen pasted on milk containers and listed As  but some of the worst criticism comes from the officers themselves. They feel demoralized Uncertain about their role afraid of the emboldened stance of the heavily armed Street gangs and deserted by some of their superiors and unlike March of last year when the department closed ranks amid the uproar Over the videotaped beating of Rodney King by four White police officers the officers Are now open in talking about their frustrations. Quot we re not the heroes anymore Quot said officer Robert Frutos. A six year Veteran of the 77th Street station at the heart of South Central where the worst rioting took place two weeks ago Quot when i m off work i Don t even Tell people that in a a police officer because they think we re the bad Guys i say i m a chemical Engineer Quot As f autos spoke a helicopter buzzed overhead and Helm Etc officers armed with m-16 s patrolled the roof of the 77th Street station the burned out neighbourhoods of South Central have taken on new routines with Street Corner vendors doing a brisk business Selling to shirts with King s words Quot can we All get along Quot and National guard troops becoming chatty and familiar with residents Quot we re taking a police department once one of the finest in the world and tearing it apart Quot said sol John Zrofsky a 23-year Veteran of the department like Many of the officers interviewed throughout the City Zrofsky said he is looking for a new Job a out of police work Quot i Don t want to live in a department that is being destroyed the Force is under investigation on several fronts. I tie police commission a five member panel of civilians that overseas the department began hearings tins past week on Why the department took so Long to respond to the outbreak of noting which caused 52 deaths nearly 2,400 injuries and an estimated $785 million in property damage and the Justice department is investigating whether King s civil rights were violated by the police. Inside the department doubts and guilt plague a Force that tins been on full mobilization a every officer working 12-hour shifts for two weeks now with no Days off. At the same time the tarnished badge seems to have inspired tetons to new Heights of bravado we to lost any Type o respect we May have had from the  said detective Gary Holbrook a 14-year Veteran working out of the foothill division in the far readies of the san Fernando Valley. The four officers who beat King worked out of this precinct House now. A siege mentality has taken hold at the foothill station Rifle toting officers stand guard behind sandbags erected a one Corner of the station a police bus blocks the Mam enhance serving As a harrier game any sort of terrorist attack Quot i. Very Lew minutes a new Call comes in a taunt of threat Quot Holbrook said Quot the gangs tee Ike they ran do anything they want to us now Quot Back at the 77th Street station officer Edgar Palmer said Quot i have never seen morale so  Palmer a seven year police Veteran is one of Only three officers in 77th Street division who live in South Central los Angeles. Quot we Don t know what the gangs Are going to do and we done to know what s going on at the top of this  the gangs say they have declared a truce among themselves. It is unclear if the police remain a target. But fresh Graffiti on the Walls of streets of . Sends a chilling message to the police. Sprayed on Walls throughout the gang strongholds is Quot police 187,&Quot referring to a penal code number for homicide. But even worse perhaps than sneers from gangs whose members number As Many As 100,000, is the new found distrust from average citizens under chief Daryl Gates who has said he will retire at the end of june the department has prided itself on being a Quick strike quasi military Force that could contain any significant outbreak of trouble. That image has been shattered by the beating of Reginald Denny who was dragged from his truck on the night the riots broke out savagely beaten then left Lor dead. Television cameras were Able to film the event but the police were nowhere m sight. Pictures of another event showed officers m full Retreat As the unrest developed Gates in a news conference lifter the riots said tie failure to respond to the beating of Denny was a significant Quot glitch Quot he also acknowledged that Quot a Littie panic and paralysis settled in Quot contributing to the delayed response the beating of Denny in tact was not Only witnessed by millions of americans on television but Many Oft Ceis of the 77lh Sheet station As Well who watched in hereon pariah e the e icon sets while their commander refused to Send them in. Quot every single Blue suit Here wanted to go in and save that Guy Quot Frutos said. No matter what the cause of the delayed police response the image of the los Angeles police department fleeing a crime scene then failing to return with More forces As called for in police procedure has been seared into the minds of Many in the City korean merchants who took up arms to defend their own stores during the noting demonstrated with placards that read Quot los Angeles police  the riots have left Many officers shaking their Heads and asking for direction from the Public and their superiors. A we done to have the support of the people the politicians or the higher ups Quot said detective Charles Rieben a 17-year Veteran who works out of the Hollywood division. He said the department once known for its aggressiveness now seemed to have a chronic hesitation to almost All of its actions. I m confused As to what people want from us Quot said Holbrook. A the politicians the press the Public a do they want us to go out and catch bad Guys or do they want us to be passive i Don t know what i m supposed to do  action line editor s note the action line will not appear today because of a delay in receiving responses to a number of queries. The draw Down cutbacks in staff and other factors have combined to produce the shortage according to military officials the action line will resume As soon As answers Are received by the stars and Stripe s Page 16 a the stars and stripes tuesday May 19, 199?