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LAPD probes video of song mocking Michael Brown's death at party for ex-cops
Screenshot from video showing a meeting of retired police officers where a song mocking the death of Michael Brown was performed.
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Youtube
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The Los Angeles Police Department has launched an investigation into video footage from a gathering of retired police officers that shows the performance of a song mocking the shooting death of Michael Brown.
Investigators are looking into whether any current LAPD officers attended the Dec. 15 party, which was thrown by a retired LAPD official at an Elks Lodge in Glendale.
"Simply being present at an event obviously does not constitute misconduct," said LAPD officer Drake Madison.
Chief Charlie Beck weighed in on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/LAPDChiefBeck/status/547578863421636608
https://twitter.com/LAPDChiefBeck/status/547579578449788928
In a written statement, the LAPD echoed Beck's sentiments and called the performance "stunningly offensive and absurd," while noting that it was not a department-sponsored event. Madison said the song was performed by a former detective who retired from the force in 2007. The department does not believe that the event raised any money for the LAPD.
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Video of the performance was first published by TMZ (warning: the video contains language that some may find offensive):
Video: Glendale Elks Lodge song mocks Michael Brown killing
The Los Angeles Times reports that the song, a parody of "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" by Jim Croce, includes the following lyrics:
"Michael Brown learned a lesson
about a messin’ with a bad … police man
And he’s, bad, bad Michael Brown
Baddest thug in the whole darn town
Badder than an ol' King Kong
Meaner than a junkyard dog
Two men took to fightin’
And Michael punched in through the door
and Michael looked like some old Swiss cheese
His brain was splatter on the floor."
“He used poor judgment in this instance, but I know he feels very bad about it,” said Jerry Stephens, chairman of the lodge's Board of Trustees, of Fishell. “He's not a racist.”
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The song was performed at a private dinner party following a charity golf tournament that was inappropriate and that does not [reflect] the values of the Glendale Elks members.
Although the golf tournament and dinner were organized by an Elks member, the majority of attendees were not Elks members.
Brown, an unarmed teenager, was gunned down by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., in August. In November, a grand jury declined to bring charges against Darren Wilson, the officer who shot him to death.
This story has been updated.
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