A retired homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department was shown in a viral social media video last week using racial slurs during a confrontation with a Black man, which has prompted an internal review of hundreds of cases he was involved with.
The skirmish involving former LAPD investigator John Motto reportedly happened March 13 following a minor traffic accident in Valencia, according to CBS affiliate KCAL 9 in Los Angeles.
The two men had pulled over to the curb and soon tempers boiled over. The incident appears to have taken place along a busy thoroughfare, where someone began filming from behind some bushes only feet away.
The footage shows Motto, who retired from the Operations Central Homicide Bureau last May, yelling, pointing his finger and hurling the N-word while demanding the man hand over his driver’s license. The Black man, who was unidentified, also fired back with the N-word toward Motto as the bickering escalated.
A woman apparently with Motto is seen trying to stand between the men to break up the argument.
At one point Motto can be heard telling the man: “Go back into your little cage until the monkey controller gets here.”
Both men appeal to the witness filming the video and blame each other for the altercation.
No punches were thrown.
The department has launched an investigation, although the former officer is not subject to disciplinary action because he is no longer an employee.
On Wednesday L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón said his office would review 370 old cases in which Motto was a prosecution witness.
“For any of you that have seen this video, it’s horrific,” Gascón said. “It really illustrates, you know, incredibly racist attitudes by this individual.”
Because of the incident, Gascón said he is required to take a closer look at Motto’s conduct throughout the time he worked for LAPD, beginning with cases that are still pending.
“Under the law, we are required, once we are aware of someone having racist tendencies, as in the case of the individual, we have to notify all the defense lawyers in all the cases that this individual may have been a witness or participated in the investigation,” Gascón said Wednesday.
DeWitt Lacey, a Los Angeles civil rights attorney, told KCAL 9 that defense attorneys would move to challenge any convictions that were based on Motto’s work or testimony.
“They’re going to question whether or not evidence was planted,” Lacey said. “They’re gonna question whether or not he ignored evidence from people of color, Black folks in particular. They’re gonna question the type of people he went after.”
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