The Region - News from Sept. 11, 1987

Complaining of police harassment of blacks, the Long Beach chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People has asked the city to create a civilian review board to investigate complaints of police misconduct. NAACP representatives told the Public Safety Advisory Commission that such a board is necessary to review police conduct when there is loss of life, great bodily harm or other special circumstance. Police Chief Lawrence Binkley and the police union have argued that a civilian board would be demoralizing to officers and an unnecessary layer of government.