The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has implemented a new policy for dealing with officer-related traffic accidents, which have been occurring at an average of one a day.

 

In January, The Los Angeles Times reported that the LAPD had caused about 1,250 crashes over the last three years, almost one a day. Most of the accidents were minor, but some resulted in life-threatening injuries or were the result of officers violating traffic laws. Nearly $24 million in settlements or verdicts has been paid by the city as a result of about 400 LAPD traffic-related lawsuits over the last nine years.

 

Going forward, any time police are involved in a traffic accident in which someone is killed or badly injured, a team of detectives and officers trained in crash reconstruction will go to the scene immediately. Previously, officers were not even required to speak with investigators.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

LAPD Adopts New Rules On Probing Officer-Involved Crashes (by Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times)

LAPD Tries New Policies To Cut Costly, Dangerous Traffic Crashes (by Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times)