The LAPD officers who stormed a South L.A. auto shop last year, killing 19-month-old hostage Suzie Pena during a gun battle with her father, followed department rules and should not be punished, the Police Commission ruled Tuesday.
But the oversight panel found problems in the way the Los Angeles Police Department field command responded and managed the crisis and singled out for potential discipline two officers who fired their weapons from the periphery very early in the 2 1/2 -hour siege.
"There was a systemic breakdown at the command and leadership level," Commission President John Mack said. "This incident is nothing short of tragic. It's tragic for all of us. The officers involved, and the community at large. It is a loss for Los Angeles and will be remembered as a sad and tragic day in our history."
One SWAT officer was wounded in the gun battle with Jose Raul Pena, who held his daughter in his arm as he repeatedly fired his gun at officers at his Watts car sales business in July 2005.
The commission announcement came hours after the district attorney cleared of criminal wrongdoing the 11 police officers who fired their weapons, even as the toddler's family and community activists demanded that the panel discipline the officers involved in the confrontation.
The commission announced its finding after a nine-hour, closed-door meeting with Police Chief William J. Bratton in which the panel unanimously backed all of his recommendations on which officers acted in and out of policy.
Mack and other panelists said the SWAT standoff highlighted shortcomings in the way the LAPD handles such incidents -- including communications among elite units -- that must be immediately addressed.
Specifically, the commission wants to hold commanders managing the scene more accountable for the actions of officers on the ground. The panel ordered Bratton in the future to review the actions of commanders with the same degree of detail that officers' actions receive.
Other reforms proposed include modifications for the use of urban police rifles and better training for officers as well as commanders and an examination of how to better storm a building in hostage situations.
Altogether, 13 officers, three sergeants and one lieutenant were ordered to undergo additional training because of concerns about their tactics during the incident.
