LAPD to try mediation in profiling cases

The Los Angeles Police Department said it has approval to start a program that will allow officers to meet with those who have accused them of racial profiling. The three-year experimental program, now approved by the police commission, will give officers and accusers the option of meeting to discuss the encounter and stand in each others' shoes. Participation in the program will be voluntary for both sides, and volunteers trained by officials will serve as mediators in the session, the Los Angeles Times said. The program is a way for the LAPD to address the accusations, hundreds of which are made every year. Profiling complaints often occur after a traffic or pedestrian stop, when the officers are accused of picking out a person solely because of his or her race, ethnicity or religious attire. The mediation program will be used in run-of-the-mill cases, in which there are no allegations of physical abuse or racial insults. If an officer participates in the mediation session, the department will drop its internal investigation into the accusation. Officers with two prior complaints will not be eligible, the Times said.