|
|
Hidell's death prevents the District Attorney from ever bringing the case to court, eliminating the potential of a jury deciding if sufficient evidence existed to support the DA's position that Hidell committed the crime.
|
|
"I have directed the Board to evaluate all the facts and circumstances surrounding the Gates homicide, as well as the subsequent deaths of a police officer [Tom Baker] and of the alleged assassin of Mr. Gates [Alek Hidell]," Garcetti said in a prepared statement. He believes the board could publish its results as soon as mid-March.
Gates was killed on December 2, 1999, during a charity appearance in MacArthur Park near downtown Los Angeles. Police state that the fatal rifle shots were fired by Hidell, whose personal diaries indicate a desire to start a "class war." Hidell was killed moments later by an LAPD officer, but not before Hidell also allegedly shot Baker with his own handgun. Baker was kept alive on life support at St. Vincent Medical Center but died after being removed from the equipment 23 days later. Neither Hidell nor Baker are reported to have made any statements before their deaths, leaving investigators mainly with circumstantial evidence, contradictory eyewitness reports and the testimony of the LAPD officer--a young trainee named Jacob Powell--who killed Hidell.
QUESTIONS SURROUND GATES' KILLING
Alek Hidell, born on July 4, 1976, is described by police investigators as an "extreme radical" and "lifelong loner" and had previous convictions for various crimes including drug possession and assaulting an officer. Investigators argue that the evidence--such as Hidell's journals and his known movements the night preceding the murder--point to Hidell acting alone in the murder. But Hidell's death prevents the District Attorney from ever bringing the case to court, eliminating the potential of a jury deciding if sufficient evidence existed to support the DA's position that Hidell committed the crime.
This lack of definitive closure has fueled widespread rumors of a broader conspiracy involved in Gates' death, despite the assurances of the LAPD that there are no additional suspects to investigate. Media reports of eyewitnesses who heard more than two gunshots, who saw a man fleeing the hotel moments after the shooting, and who report a "getaway car" leaving the scene are dismissed by LAPD sources as "unsubstantiated by the evidence of the case."
Online publications and bulletin boards have fueled even broader accusations, including the suggestion that Baker committed suicide with his own gun ("preposterous," says Garcetti), that Powell was not authorized as a peace officer (not true, according to LAPD spokesman David J. Kalish), and that Hidell had connections to the CIA ("That one is so out there that I don't know what to say," says an LAPD source).
|
|
|
|
|
|
"I urge those of you in media to please, please, carefully consider your actions before adding fuel to these baseless allegations," Garcetti said in his press conference today, seemingly growing impatient with questions about various rumors. "This is one of the most important crimes of the century. I'm doing my best to see that it doesn't become fodder for some kind of circus in the media."
PUBLIC PRESSURE MOUNTS ON GARCETTI
Not everyone is confident in the ability of the LAPD and District Attorney to investigate and report objectively on their own conduct, especially in the wake of the highly publicized corruption in the LAPD's Rampart Division, where the Gates murder also took place. Four more officers from the Rampart Division were suspended today as a result of corruption charges, which have already caused 11 criminal convictions to be overturned. According to prosecutors, over 4,000 cases involving some 20 officers are currently under review.
"We can't let the fox investigate the chicken coop," said David James, co-president of Citizens for Truth, a group formed two weeks ago specifically to watch over the investigation into the Gates murder. "The LAPD cannot adequately investigate the serious charges of its own misconduct, and the District Attorney will be too dependent on the LAPD to perform a truly independent inquiry."
James and Citizens for Truth took their concerns to a Police Commission meeting held on January 10, and plan to attend the next Commission meeting on January 20 to express their outrage over today's announcement.
|
|
