Police Pass Flyer Making Light of Beating : Satirical Ad for Invisible Batons Circulates Throughout LAPD; Gates Orders Inquiry

A flyer circulating within the Los Angeles Police Department satirizes the videotaped beating of Rodney G. King and features a drawing of a so-called “Stealth” baton that is “totally invisible to video.”

Photocopies of the circular have been widely distributed, hand to hand, among officers driving between the LAPD’s various divisions. A copy was obtained Thursday by The Times.

The flyer contains a title, in large capital letters: “STEALTH PR-24.” This is a reference to the standard issue 24-inch-long baton used by some Foothill Division police officers to beat King after a car chase March 3 in the San Fernando Valley. The “PR” model designation stands for “prosecutor.”

Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, who was shown a copy of the flyer Thursday, called it “silly and insensitive,” according to LAPD spokesman Lt. Fred Nixon.

“He’d like to know whether or not department personnel are actively circulating it,” Nixon said, adding that Gates had ordered an immediate inquiry.

Gates’ critics have accused him of inspiring conditions leading to tensions between white officers and minorities. For example, they feel the chief made a tasteless joke relating to the King beating scene at a luncheon a week ago attended by 1,000 people.

“As a guy who never goes to the movies and loves home movies, that was a lousy movie,” Gates told George Holliday, whose video camera recorded the beating. “If it wasn’t for our helicopter, the lighting would have been terrible.”

As for the “Stealth” flyer, Nixon said that even assuming the person who created it had no vicious intent, the flyer still was unacceptable by any standards, particularly given the intense emotions sparked by the King beating.

“Regardless of the innocent intent, it represents the kind of insensitivity that the chief is determined to eliminate,” Nixon said. “This kind of carelessness is something we just can’t afford. The timing makes it very serious. What you’re risking is that someone might not know that your intention is playful.”

Nixon said the individual who created the flyer, if discovered, would be subject to misconduct charges.

Police sources said the flyer has surfaced in recent days at a number of LAPD divisions, including Pacific, Newton, West Los Angeles and Van Nuys. A Foothill Division supervisor said he hadn’t seen it. “It wouldn’t be considered funny here,” a lieutenant said.

Four Foothill Division officers have been indicted by the Los Angeles County Grand Jury on assault charges arising out of the King beating, which was videotaped by an amateur cameraman.

Despite official LAPD disapproval, the flyer is being widely disseminated, according to some officers. “It’s being passed hand to hand,” said one detective, who asked not to be identified. “It’s all over the place.”

The flyer picks up on the name of the state-of-the-art “Stealth” bomber, which is designed to be all but invisible to ground radar when it is flying on low-altitude missions.

In the upper left corner of the flyer is the headline: “ATTN: CHIEFS OF POLICE. The new ‘Stealth’ PR-24 is made of a clear material rendering it totally invisible to video.”

At the lower right it reads: “AVOID UNPLEASANT PUBLICITY. Your officers will appear to be simply dancing or gesturing with their hands should any difficult person require special handling.”

One LAPD officer who saw it said that police officers “are notorious with coming up with sick stuff.” He said the flyer was a byproduct of a job fraught with stress, where humor is a scarce commodity. “The guys do this,” he said, “to relieve tension.”

CONTROVERSIAL CIRCULAR

An 8 1/2-by-11-inch flyer that attempts to create humor out of the Rodney King beating has been circulated among LAPD divisions. It depicts a so-called “stealth” baton invisible to public scrutiny and video cameras. A Police Department spokesman said the circular was ill-timed and would not be tolerated.