On March 3, 1991, at the end of a high-speed vehicle pursuit, an amateur cameraman captured on video four uniformed LAPD officers beating motorist Rodney G. King. The incident, which occurred in the presence of a sergeant and a group of other officers, spurred public outcry and fostered an overwhelming sense of mistrust and disdain toward the LAPD. In response, the Mayor and the Chief of Police of Los Angeles each formed an independent citizens' commission to conduct a full and fair investigation into the LAPD's tactics, policies, practices, and procedures, especially those pertaining to the use of force when making arrests. To avoid overlap the two commissions subsequently merged and formed the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, also referred to as the Christopher Commission.

Presiding over the ten member advisory body was Los Angeles attorney Warren Christopher, who had previously served in the Lyndon Johnson administration as Deputy Attorney General and in the Jimmy Carter administration as Deputy Secretary of State. Retired California Supreme Court Justice, John A. Arguelles, was selected to be second in command. Over the course of the investigation, Christopher, Arguelles, and the Commission members were assisted by an experienced staff of more than 60 attorneys from major Los Angeles law firms, all of whom worked strictly on a pro bono basis.

Together, the Commission and its staff reviewed one million pages of documentation related to all aspects of the law enforcement structure in Los Angeles that might cause or contribute to the problem of excessive force. Special attention was drawn to the LAPD's training and recruitment practices, assignment and promotion procedures, internal disciplinary system, citizen's complaint process, and use-of-force guidelines. The investigation also centered on the role of the city's Board of Police Commissioners and evaluated the dynamics between the Mayor-appointed commissioners and members of the LAPD's administration.

The Commission concluded its study after three months and synthesized its findings into the Report of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department. The 228 page report identified several major structural problems within the LAPD that shed light onto the King incident and also offered conditions and recommendations for improvement. Many of the problems identified by the Commission were attributed to the LAPD's management and administration practices led by Chief of Police Daryl M. Gates.

The major issues and strategies identified in the Commission report can be grouped into the following thematic categories:

(1) Excessive Force. Dozens of officers abuse the Department's use-of-force guidelines by repeatedly exercising excessive force. These incidents are rarely included in the officers' personnel files.

(2) Racism. The problem of excessive force is aggravated by racism and bias within the LAPD. Officers brazenly send racist and sexist messages over the Department's Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) system without reprimand. A greater degree of sensitivity training should be incorporated into the academy curriculum to solve this problem.

(3) Community. The LAPD has an organizational culture that emphasizes crime control over crime prevention. This has fostered a siege mentality among officers and has isolated the police from the communities and the people that they serve. The Department should re-evaluate its philosophy and consider adopting a more proactive, community oriented approach to law enforcement.

(4) Discipline. The discipline system is skewed against citizens making complaints. Instead of conducting a full and fair evaluation, investigators seem more concerned with exonerating the accused officers of wrongdoing.

(5) Recruitment. The Department's current recruitment and screening program is a poor predictor of an applicant's tendencies toward violent behavior, and the background investigation pays too little attention to a candidate's history of violence. Officers should also be regularly screened to determine if physical or psychological problems develop over time.

(6) Chief. Chief of Police Daryl F. Gates should transition toward retirement, and his successors should be limited to two 5-year terms.

(7) Implementation. The support of politicians, the police, and the general public is essential to successfully enact reforms and implement change within the Department.

The Commission completed its study in 100 days and published its report in July, 1991, three months after the investigation was formally launched.