Operation Hammer (1987) facts for kids

Operation Hammer was a big effort by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to stop serious group violence in Los Angeles, California. It started in April 1987. This action came after a sad event where people at a birthday party were shot from a passing car.

After this, the Chief of Police, Daryl F. Gates, decided to gather many people believed to be involved in these groups. At its busiest in April 1988, Operation Hammer saw 1,453 people arrested. This happened in just one weekend in South Central Los Angeles (now called South Los Angeles), with a thousand police officers working together.

How Operation Hammer Started

The idea for Operation Hammer came from the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. During the Olympics, the LAPD increased its efforts to find and arrest people involved in group activities. These actions happened all over the city, especially in South Central and East Los Angeles.

After the games, the police continued to use older laws to keep up this strong security. This led to many young Black and Hispanic people being arrested. Even though many were arrested, most were never officially charged with a crime. Between 1984 and 1989, complaints from citizens about police using too much force went up by 33 percent.

Arrests and Results

By 1990, more than 50,000 people had been arrested during these police actions. During this time, the LAPD arrested more young Black men and women than at any time since the Watts riots of 1965.

Despite the huge number of arrests, in April 1988, only 60 serious arrests were made. Official charges were only filed in 32 cases. Chief Gates, however, said that charges were filed for 70% of those arrested.

Concerns and Criticisms

Many people believed that Operation Hammer was unfair. Critics said it focused too much on racial profiling. This means police targeted African-American and Hispanic young people more often.

The feeling that police were unfairly targeting people who were not Caucasian likely made people very angry. This anger later contributed to the big protests and unrest known as the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which happened after the attack on motorist Rodney King.

In an interview in 2001, Chief Gates was asked if people in these communities thanked the police. He said:

The good people always did. But the community leaders? No. They said we were 'oppressing' people, whether they were Black or Hispanic. That's nonsense. We were trying to help their communities and make life better for people.