One Bad Cop

September 7, 2011 12:44 PM

Fans of "The Shield" should learn more about the LAPD's Rampart scandal. Rafael Perez and his cronies were the inspiration for Vic Mackey and the Strike Team.

Previously discussed on the Blue.

posted by reenum (13 comments total)

That "Previously" link is sort of hilarious for how quickly it would get deleted today. But thanks for the links, Rafael is a pretty fascinating character.
posted by Bookhouse at 12:47 PM on September 7, 2011

Don't forget the Twin Cities Metro Gang Strike Force.

Whee, militarized police.
posted by kavasa at 12:55 PM on September 7, 2011

Whee, militarized police.

Don't forget the classic City of Quartz
posted by KokuRyu at 12:56 PM on September 7, 2011

Love it. Loved The Shield. One of the best endings of any series, ever. Thanks for the post.
posted by the young rope-rider at 1:01 PM on September 7, 2011

Don't forget the Oakland, CA Police gang known as The Riders.
posted by telstar at 1:08 PM on September 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

Did they have to use that font for the whole article?
posted by waraw at 1:24 PM on September 7, 2011

The scandal also partially inspired the film Street Kings, which is notable for (a) Keanu Reeves' usual totally flat affect and (b) the fact that the movie is only redeemed by pretending that Hugh Laurie is in character as Dr. House when he's supposed to be playing an internal affairs investigator.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 1:30 PM on September 7, 2011 [2 favorites]

I lived in LA before the riots. I remember the LA Weekly (or maybe Reader) investigating the Sheriffs Department. I wish I could remember the details, which were harrowing -- something about a secret "gang" within the department who all had tattoos of, IIRC, hornet's nest, and each hornet around the nest represented somebody they had brutalized.

God, it was bad there then. The riots surprised nobody.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 1:47 PM on September 7, 2011

Whee, militarized police.
posted by homunculus at 2:27 PM on September 7, 2011

It's hard for me to read about gangs in LA without mentioning Homeboy Industries and the book written by its founder, Father Greg Boyle SJ, Tattoos on the Heart. Highly recommended.
posted by entropone at 2:43 PM on September 7, 2011 [1 favorite]

Homeboy would be a lot more impressive if people actually got jobs after "graduating" from Homeboy, but that's not the case. At best, it's a revolving door. And with Bruce Karatz as CEO, money might flow in but not jobs.
posted by Ideefixe at 3:28 PM on September 7, 2011

In addition the Rampart scandal loosely inspired some of GTA: San Andreas. The CRASH unit was featured in the video game.
posted by IvoShandor at 4:38 PM on September 7, 2011

That used to be a problem, but they've cleaned all that up. We can put that behind us.

Every town's got some. Seattle only got exposed once.
posted by warbaby at 5:40 PM on September 7, 2011