Los Santos Police Department

## History of The Department

The Los Santos Police Department was founded in 1853 during the San Andreas Gold Rush and consisted primarily of a voluntary militia. Due to its location, San Andreas was known for violence with Los Santos becoming one of the most dangerous cities in the United States for several years during this period. The militia group, known as the ‘San Andreas Rangers’ eventually formed the first paid police force when they were merged with another militia company, the Los Santos City Guards, in 1869. The next twenty years would be a turbulent period that saw a total of fifteen Police Chiefs occupy the leadership role until Police Chief William C. Rockford took office and held the position for ten years - overseeing sweeping reforms that turned the department into a cohesive Law Enforcement Agency.

The next 100 years for the department saw it grow into the large, municipal department that it is today. In 1911 the first female officer was sworn into service, three years before the outbreak of World War I; and during both world wars, the department suffered a decrease in manpower as officers were called to serve in the armed forces. In the post-war periods, there was an increase in corruption within the department that anti-corruption teams spent the next decades trying to eradicate, accentuated by the Bloody Easter scandal in 1952 that brought the issue of police brutality to the forefront.

As one of the largest police departments in the country, the Los Santos Police Department was affected by almost every major event in the 20th Century that involved the country. With these events, the department grew and adapted, sometimes for the better, sometimes not so much. Some key events that shaped the department have been selected below. More will be added in the future.

## Downtown Vinewood Shootout

On February 28th 1997, the Los Santos Police Department responded to a bank robbery that would set in motion major changes within the Department. Using body armour and a variety of high-calibre weapons, Garry Phelps Jr. and his accomplice Emilio Materasu attempted to steal a large sum of money from the vaults at the Pacific Standard Public Deposit Bank on Vinewood Boulevard. Officers arriving on the scene reported hearing gunfire from inside the bank and requested additional backup whilst holding the perimeter.

Shortly before 0930, Phelps exited the building from the north side and immediately opened fire on nearby officers - wounding several officers and civilians, as well as forcing the LSPD’s helicopter to fall back before retreating inside again. Shortly afterwards, Materasu exited the building alongside him and engaged officers with automatic gunfire. The officers, who were armed with their standard-issue 9mm or .38 calibre weapons, were unable to penetrate the body armour worn by the suspects, and due to a combination of range and the suppression from automatic fire, were also unable to land shots to their unprotected heads. It wasn’t until the second ‘officer down’ call that the LSPD’s Special Weapons and Tactics was notified by dispatchers and requested on scene.

Both Phelps and Materasu were able to regroup at their getaway vehicle, although Materasu was injured and forced to abandon the duffel bag of money and focus on starting the getaway vehicle. Phelps was also injured by officers when their gunfire struck his HK-91 rifle, forcing him to drop it and remove a new rifle from the vehicle. Materasu moved slowly through the parking lot at the rear as Phelps engaged officers whilst using the vehicle as cover. Once they reached the road, Phelps broke from the vehicle and proceeded to flee down the sidewalk on foot whilst Materasu drove down Clinton Avenue - forcing the officers on the northeastern side to fall back due to overwhelming fire.

Phelps, at this point heading eastward on Clinton Avenue, continued firing his rifle at officers until it jammed just after the intersection with Power Street. Unable to clear the jam, Phelps discarded the rifle and drew his last remaining firearm - a Beretta 92FS and continued to engage officers. He was eventually hit in his right arm, forcing him to drop the pistol before retrieving it and turning it on himself. Officers continued to shoot at Phelps’ body for several seconds afterwards.

Materasu, having continued to drive down Clinton Avenue, was halted when his vehicle was disabled by gunfire. He attempted to carjack a pickup truck he had blocked in the road, however, a SWAT team used a marked cruiser to approach the vehicle and block it in. The team exchanged close range fire with Materasu for a full two minutes before hitting him in his unprotected lower legs and forcing him to surrender. SWAT officers moved in to secure Materasu, pinning him down and handcuffing him. Materasu, having been heavily wounded, died from exsanguination before EMTs could be cleared into the scene to assist him.

In the aftermath of the incident, the US Government began to approve the arming of regular patrol officers. In the LSPD, this saw the introduction of the AR-15 under the designation of the ‘Urban Patrol Rifle’. This rifle would be made available to regular patrol officers who passed the certification and not just to the LSPD’s Metropolitan Division. In addition to this, use of .45 calibre semi-automatic pistols were authorised for officers in the Department - with many opting to utilise the Smith & Wesson Models 4506 and 4566.

## C.R.A.S.H AND THE MISSION ROW SCANDAL

Originally formed as TRASH (Total Resources Against Street Hoodlums) in the early 1970s as part of Mission Row Area’s effort to combat the growing problem of street gangs, the name was changed to replace ‘Total’ with ‘Community’ due to complaints from the public that the acronym harmed the image of the youths joining the targeted gangs. CRASH, as it was now known, became a success and was expanded department-wide, with every division having its own CRASH unit operating from the station.

The Mission Row Scandal happened in 1998 when Officer Luca Morales, a senior officer within Mission Row’s CRASH unit, was arrested following a lengthy internal investigation by detectives into corruption within the unit.  The original investigation began after a sizable amount of cocaine was found to be missing from the station’s evidence locker and the evidence clerk involved with the removal was able to identify Morales as the one who signed it out due to his rude behaviour during the incident. In exchange for immunity against the majority of his crimes, Morales offered information and testimony to detectives that led to the investigation of a further 50+ officers.

Morales’ testimony revealed a large number of officers that he claimed were ‘in the loop’ - a phrase used to describe an officer who was part of the ‘CRASH Culture’ which involved fabricating reports and probable cause, planting evidence, shooting unarmed suspects and planting weapons to justify their use of force, and sometimes even taking part in gang violence. One of the most notable incidents is a shooting  in which Morales and his partner Wyatt Raines, a transfer from Vepucci’s CRASH unit that Morales had ‘sponsored’ due to their wives’ friendship, shot the unarmed Jose Oviedo in his home, before planting a weapon on him. Oviedo, then a member of a prominent street gang,  was sentenced to 23 years in prison and was released following Morales’ testimony, eventually receiving $15 Million in damages - the largest police misconduct settlement in Los Santos’ history.

In early 2000 CRASH was officially disbanded after slowly being diminished due to the Mission Row Scandal. The Gangs & Narcotics Division was created to replace it, with the requirements for entry being higher than CRASH and the officer requiring a high amount of experience, cleaner disciplinary record and low number of personnel complaints.

In early 2000 CRASH was officially disbanded after slowly being diminished due to the Mission Row Scandal. The Gangs & Narcotics Division was created to replace it, with the requirements for entry being higher than CRASH and the officer requiring a high amount of experience, cleaner disciplinary record and low number of personnel complaints.

## Our Ethics and Core Values

**Courtesy**

This is arguably a core value of the server and not just our faction, but we strive to exemplify it in our faction members/officers. Whether it’s offering directions or assistance to citizens in the server or being considerate to OOC situations that may affect other players; our faction members should always strive to help.

**Professionalism**

Once again we follow this core value both IC and OOC. As LEO roleplayers, we want to emulate the professionalism of our real-world counterparts as best we can. The faction/department has extensive self-checking and disciplinary procedures that help us make sure that our players/officers are behaving to the standard that we expect of them. Faction Leadership has always been clear that complaints regarding players/officers are handled seriously and encourages anyone with issues to report them lest they go unchallenged. We are proud of the level of professionalism in our players/officers and believe that our faction is one of the strongest in terms of this within the GTA V roleplay community.

**Respect**

Both IC or OOC, we respect the community and its citizens/players. As a Law Enforcement Agency, we aim to accurately portray our care and commitment to the city and its citizens - but this also transitions into the real world. As the biggest faction on the server, we are especially conscious to listen to the feedback of community members on how the faction operates. The Faction Leadership often engage in conversations with other faction leaders, both legal and illegal, on how to improve the faction for the benefit of everyone, and our regular players can always be seen discussing things and helping players on the forums and discord. We do not condone the attitude that the LSPD faction is better because it’s law enforcement and/or bigger, and will always fight to improve things for the benefit of all players, not just our own.