They let me go. When they run into situations where there is overt corruption and brutality, it tarnishes this dream. If someone questions their authority, he said, young officers 'want to show bravado and power. Few residents seem to test the LAPD's community policing skills more than the illegal vendors. The unlicensed food stalls, which are banned by health authorities, support many families on the economy s bottom rung.
Neighbors say they have seen some vendors sell marijuana and other illegal drugs.
Look how old I am. Nobody is going to hire me. Elena Chacon fled to Los Angeles after her mother and her two sisters were killed by a death squad in San Salvador 20 years ago. More serious troubles began when Officer Rafael A. Perez, a central figure in the LAPD scandal, asked her to introduce him to cocaine dealers, Chacon said. She said that she told him she did not know any and that he became angry.