The 5 Most Controversial Police Departments In The U.S.
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In recent years, policing in America has come under intense scrutiny, with numerous police departments facing accusations of misconduct, excessive force, corruption, and systemic failures. Many departments have been called out for actions that seem to betray the public trust, highlighting deep-rooted issues that often go beyond a few rogue officers, but huge errors that need fixing within the system.
While no department is immune to controversy, here are five of the most controversial and worst-policed departments in the U.S., known for their troubled histories and ongoing issues.
1. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)
The LAPD has long been a focal point of public scrutiny due to its history of corruption, racial discrimination, and use of excessive force. One of the most infamous episodes in its history was the Rodney King incident in 1991, where King, an African American man, was brutally beaten by several LAPD officers. The officers’ acquittal in 1992 sparked widespread riots, highlighting the tension between law enforcement and communities of color.
Despite reform efforts, the department continues to face criticism for a variety of issues, including officer-involved shootings, racial profiling, and mistreatment of marginalized communities. The LAPD’s track record has been tarnished by the Rampart Scandal in the late 1990s and early 2000s, where officers were found to be involved in drug dealing, planting evidence, and even extrajudicial killings, according to PBS.
The Rampart Scandal exposed widespread corruption within the LAPD’s CRASH unit (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums), which was tasked with combating gang violence. Officer Rafael Perez revealed that many CRASH officers were involved in false arrests, perjury, excessive force, and even criminal activities like stealing drugs and selling firearms. Though the unit initially helped reduce gang crime, it also harassed suspects, fabricated evidence, and framed innocent people. The scandal led to the conviction of multiple officers and the overturning of hundreds of wrongful convictions, severely damaging the LAPD’s credibility and prompting major reforms in the department’s oversight and accountability practices.
While improvements have been made to the department over the last decade, issues still exist. In 2021, the LAPD received over 2000 misconduct complaints, according to Police Scorecard.
2. Chicago Police Department (CPD)
Chicago’s police force is notorious for its history of violence, corruption, and a lack of accountability. The CPD’s longstanding issues came to a head in the case of Laquan McDonald, a Black teenager who was shot 16 times by former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke in 2014, leading to public outrage when a dashcam video of the incident was released. Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to to 81 months, just under seven years, but the former official was released in 2022 due to good behavior behind bars, NPR reported.
The CPD has a long history of police brutality, torture, and abuses of power. One of the darkest chapters was the reign of Jon Burge, a detective who, for decades, tortured suspects into confessions.
According to the Chicago Torture Justice Memorials website page, Burge, a detective who, from 1972 to 1981, and his department were allegedly responsible for the torture of at least 87 men, primarily African American, to force confessions in Area 2 on Chicago’s South Side. Burge, a former military police investigator in Vietnam, used tactics such as electric shock, suffocation, and burning to coerce confessions, often from men wrongfully accused of serious crimes.
The most notable case occurred on February 14, 1982, when Andrew Wilson was arrested for murder and subjected to brutal torture under Burge’s direction. Despite the torture, Wilson’s confession was deemed inadmissible, but the damage had already been done. The scandal continued to reverberate for years, with victims seeking justice and the department facing immense public scrutiny for its failure to hold Burge and his colleagues accountable.
The city eventually settled with victims of Burge’s torture, paying close to $210 million in compensation for the department’s misconduct. Though the department has made some reforms, it continues to be plagued by incidents of deadly force and police misconduct cases, Police Scorecard notes. Between 2013 and 2021 there were 67 cases of Black people that were killed by police due to deadly force disparities, the outlet noted. In 2021, there were over 3000 cases of police misconduct reported in the department.
3. New York Police Department (NYPD)
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The NYPD is one of the largest and most powerful police departments in the country, but it has been mired in controversy for decades. One of the most prominent issues is the stop-and-frisk policy, which disproportionately targeted Black and Latino individuals in low-income neighborhoods. Though the practice was declared unconstitutional in 2013, it left a lasting impact on the relationship between the NYPD and New York’s communities of color.
The NYPD has also faced accusations of racism, corruption, and mismanagement. The 1997 Abner Louima case, in which Louima, a Haitian immigrant, was brutally assaulted by officers, is one chilling example. According to Stanford University, in the early morning hours of Aug. 9, 1997, police officers arrested Louima outside a Brooklyn nightclub following altercations between police and clubgoers. While in custody, officers from the department brutally beat and raped him with a wooden handle. During his testimony, Louima claimed that one of the officers called him a “f**king Haitian” as they carried out the attack. The full on assault left Louima with a punctured bladder, a severed colon as well as broken teeth, requiring three surgeries.
The main officer involved in the attack was charged with multiple federal offenses, including violating Louima’s civil rights, obstruction of justice, and making false statements. On Dec. 13, 1999, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole, along with a $525 fine and $277,495 in restitution. Another officer, convicted on June 27, 2000, for his role in the assault, received a 15-year prison sentence. In 2001, Louima was awarded an $8.75 million settlement in his civil lawsuit against the city for police brutality, marking the largest civil settlement for such a case at that time.
In more recent years, the death of Eric Garner in 2014, after a police officer placed him in a chokehold, further exposed the department’s culture of excessive force and lack of accountability.
4. Ferguson Police Department (FPD)
The small police department of Ferguson, Missouri, became the epicenter of national debate on police violence following the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014. Brown, an unarmed Black teenager, was fatally shot by officer Darren Wilson, sparking widespread protests and the Black Lives Matter movement. The shooting revealed deep racial tensions between the predominantly Black community and the overwhelmingly white police force.
In the aftermath of Brown’s death, investigations uncovered systemic racism within the department. The Department of Justice found that the FPD engaged in discriminatory practices and regularly violated the Fourth Amendment by stopping individuals without reasonable suspicion. The department also made arrests without probable cause and used excessive force against residents.
The controversy surrounding Ferguson exemplifies the dangers of over-policing, where officers treat communities as adversaries instead of allies, leading to breakdowns in trust and public safety.
5. Baltimore Police Department (BPD)
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Baltimore’s police force has faced public outcry over numerous allegations of corruption, abuse of power, and misconduct. The most notable event in recent memory was the death of Freddie Gray in 2015. Gray was arrested by BPD officers and suffered a fatal spinal injury while in police custody. His death, combined with the subsequent investigation and lack of charges against the officers involved, sparked protests and unrest in the city.
The BPD has faced a pattern of racial profiling, police brutality, and officer misconduct. A 2016 report by the Department of Justice revealed widespread patterns of discriminatory practices within the department, including targeting African American citizens, making unconstitutional stops, and a general lack of accountability. In the wake of these findings, the BPD has undergone reforms, but issues persist.
Accountability Is Key
The challenges faced by these five police departments—Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Ferguson, and Baltimore—are not unique. Across the U.S., police forces continue to grapple with issues of systemic racism, lack of oversight, and a culture of impunity. The events that have unfolded in these cities serve as a stark reminder that police departments must be held accountable for their actions, and reform is essential to rebuilding trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
Addressing these deep-seated problems requires bold action, including more transparency, increased community oversight, and a commitment to policing with respect and human dignity. Without significant changes, these troubled departments may continue to fail the very people they are sworn to protect.
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