Former justice and US magistrate join police reform panel

Former state Supreme Court Justice Carlos R. Moreno and former U.S. Magistrate Judge Jay C. Gandhi were appointed to the Los Angeles Police Commission's Advisory Committee on Building Trust and Equity.

"We're at a crossroads in the evolution of policing and I think here and now is the time to study and embrace reforms that will take us into the 21st Century," Gandhi said. "Justice Moreno and I have a long tradition and belief in justice and equality and that's why we've taken this on."

The JAMS neutrals are among 16 policy specialists, legal experts and community leaders appointed to the committee to help the Police Commission conduct a comprehensive review of Los Angeles Police Department policies and procedures and provide recommendations for reforms.

"The last thing that we would want to happen as a result of the work of this committee is to be another report by distinguished people put on the shelf and not implemented," Moreno said. "We really gotta look at the past, the present and the future with the aspirational goal - we want a police department that better connects with the various communities here in Los Angeles."

Moreno served 10 years on the California Supreme Court and three years on the federal court in Los Angeles and five years on the Los Angeles County Superior Court. He served alongside several federal judges on a L.A. County commission on the use of force at county jails, and with the help of several law firms wrote a report that ultimately resulted in the corruption indictments of Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and a number of deputy sheriffs.

Jay C. Gandhi

Gandhi also served on the federal court in Los Angeles and is a former partner of Paul Hastings LLP.

Moreno and Gandhi will focus their work on accountability and discipline within the department particularly in regards to current policing reform proposals, the evaluation of the implementation of past reform proposals and the examination of the department's recruitment, hiring, retention and training processes.

"I think both Jay and I bring a practical on the ground experience having seen these cases in the court," Moreno said. "I think it was a wise choice to put two experienced judges on a commission like this."

The committee's work is expected to be complete by the end of the year and is part of a series of reforms by the Police Commission to strengthen public safety, deepen police-community trust and establish greater accountability and transparency within the LAPD announced on July 30. The launch of the committee comes at a time many activists are demanding less funding for police departments.

"Let me just say from my own personal perspective that is too broad a term subject to many interpretations," Moreno said. "We want a police department that is better able to serve and protect the community in whatever form that takes, but I think any shibboleth like defund the police department is overbroad and is much, much more nuanced than that phrase."

Alongside the launch of the committee, the police commission made a number of announcements including the organization of a series of citywide community meetings to solicit feedback and ideas for police reform, the launch of an independent review by the National Police Foundation regarding the LAPD's response to protests following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the finalization of reforms announced in June including a ban of carotid restraint control hold, the development and implementation of revised in-custody death adjudication protocols and the permanent discontinuation of the CalGang database.

Police Chief Michel Moore permanently withdrew the LAPD's participation in the CalGang system on July 9 citing a record of misuse by officers. Three officers in Los Angeles are accused of falsifying entries and now face criminal charges.

Moreno said the advisory committee will look into the use of data collection within the department.