Rafael Perez

* After reading “Rafael Perez: The Road to Rampart” (Dec. 31), I can only feel bad for Perez. I don’t agree with what he did, but I applaud him for standing up and not keeping quiet about the rest of Rampart Division.

I agree with Perez when he credited his uniform for the blame. Do you know how many men in uniform forget their morals and ethics while wearing their uniform? They are often flirtatious and egotistical, and the attention of a young woman often adds to their ego. I speak from experience because I encounter some of these arrogant officers on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the prestige of the badge is often misused.

I believe that the ethics of every police department should be questioned, and Rampart should be taken as a wake-up call. Perez should be regarded as a mistake that everyone could learn from.

CRYSTAL DEL POZO

Los Angeles

*

Now we are closer to the truth: The so-called “elite Rampart squad” was neither elite nor a squad. Can anyone still believe that the private character of a man or woman will not be reflected in his or her public or professional lives? The Rampart squad was composed of morally indifferent young men with poor discipline and systems of accountability. Such police were not “new praetorians” under the rule of law but had become indistinguishable from the conscienceless “new barbarians” they were supposed to contain.

Retired Det. Bobby Lutz came close to understanding why Perez became a “bad cop” when he spoke of the temptations of the fleshpots of L.A., easy drug money and the pervasive corruption of the entire narco-gangster environment.

The tragic story of Perez, ironically called “the Preacher,” is a classic example of what happens to a rudderless man adrift in a sea of sexual hedonism, violence and materialism sans the moral compass provided by the teachings of ethics or religion.

Could it be that Mr. Perez is emblematic of our age?

RICHARD K. MUNRO

Bakersfield