The Flawed Emergency Response to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots
Utilizing democratic leadership is one of the strategies that would help mitigate the negative consequences related to the emergency response from the team leaders. Under the democratic leadership, the leader works closely with all the staff in making decisions (Cameron, 2012). A unique aspect in this form of leadership is that communication is both active downward and upward. This would be the most preferred form of leadership based on the operations of the response teams regarding the situation. As such, it entails competence, creativity, honesty, intelligence and fairness. One of the factors that attributed to the uncontrollable riots is a lack of good communication from the seniors to the junior employees. The leaders had not previously communicated to the response team such as the Emergency Operations Committee and Emergency Operations Board on the ideal measures to take in case of possible unrest within the city. Therefore, the response teams were caught unaware without any ideal measures to take to cool down the situation. Some of the leaders in the case study such as Major Bradley portrayed the lack of competence in handling the situation due to poor communication. “My friends I am here to tell the jury… our eyes did not deceive us. We saw what we saw, and what we saw was a crime (Rosegrant, 2000, p.16).” Based on this instance, it is vivid that Mayor Bradley does not possess good traits of a leader since the speech only led to more incitement. As a democratic leader, it would be expected that Major Bradley communicates with the jury personally rather than making a public speech to criticize the jury’s decision making. Yukl et al. (2013) agree that good communication is an important trait for all leaders in not only avoiding incitement but also ensuring teamwork.
Team leadership is another recommendable leadership style that would help curb the situation. An incidence that portrays the lack of the traits emphasized in this leadership style is the operation Hammer commissioned by Police Chief Daryl Gates. This operation aimed at sweeping all the criminal activities within the city by brushing out all the cocaine cartels and gangs out of their hideouts (Rosegrant, 2000). The operations swept across the streets with many houses belonging to the blacks being ransacked. The operation turned out to be too aggressive hence reports of police harassment and racism once more resurfaced. As such, Police Chief Daryl Gates did not oversee such repercussions of the operation and did not give the necessary orders to his officers that would help avoid reports of racism and police harassment. Based on team leadership, the leader should have a picture of the future of the organization and where it is headed (Yukl et al., 2013). As such, Gates would be able to predict the repercussions of this operation. Moreover, this leadership style entails the leader working with the minds and the hearts of those involved. The strategy recognizes that teamwork does not always involve trusting cooperative relationships (Cameron, 2012). Therefore, Chief Daryl Gates would seek and external person to invigilate the operations since the teamwork with the officers allocated the responsibilities would probably fail. If this leadership strategy were upheld, the adverse consequences related to Operation Hammer would be avoided.
Based on the riots that arose in protest of the use of excessive force when arresting Rodney King, ideal leadership skills would be vital in cooling down the situation. If Mayor Bradley and other leaders within the city took consideration of their decisions in maintaining a balance of the community needs, then the negative effects would not be recorded. The basic community needs at such time were the need for security and the end of racism and use of excessive police force. As such ethical leadership would be necessary to safeguard the interests of the public while adhering to the set goals of the organization. Yukl et al. (2013) assert that an ethical leader is expected to uphold key concepts such as honesty, trust, fairness, charisma, and consideration. Mayor Bradley as the city leader would take charge of the situation by holding a meeting with the police leaders. After that, he would apologize for the incidence reported involving Rodney King experience with the brutal police officers. Rather than publicly criticizing the jury’s decision, he would follow up to ensure justice prevails. Based on the virtue ethics, The Mayor would have ethically satisfied the needs of the community and the organizations.
Establishing a platform where the community and the organization can engage openly is one strategy of ensuring trust and fostering growth. If Police Chief Daryl Gates had an open platform where the community could direct their grievances and be listened to rather than engaging in riots to air out their concerns, the riots and disorder within Los Angeles would not be encountered. Therefore, the primary step in creating trust and fostering growth is through effective communication. Cameron (2012) opines that leaders can maintain the culture of the organization by engaging the employees frequently in meetings and seminars. The police officers who brutally arrested Rodney King did not respect the code of ethics of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), if these officers were frequently reminded of their obligations, then they would not have engaged in racism and excessive use of force while arresting the suspects.
The basic way that the organization would account for the obstacles in addressing a public situation is through immediately seeking external assistance before the situation grows worse (Ingram, Paoline & Terrill, 2013). In the case where the LAPD was unable to manage the riots, seeking assistance from other security agency would be ideal in managing the issue. Besides, foreseeing and accepting the obstacles depicted is fundamental in mitigating the loss of resources that can be depicted in handling the uncontrollable situation. Therefore, the LAPD would first apologize for the action and resolve for a peaceful approach in handling the situation. The LAPD could uphold such recommendation through immense training. Ingram, Paoline, and Terrill (2013) opine that the police officers should be informed that peaceful approach is an alternative means of solving issues encountered rather than the use of force. Similarly, they would be informed on when to seek external assistance and when to utilize the few resources within the department. The budgetary constraints that would be involved in training the officers could be solved by seeking external assistance from aids and grants. Similarly, the LAPD would approach academies such as the FBI Academy where some of the officers would receive training and later train other officers within the department.
References
Cameron, K. (2012). Positive leadership: Strategies for extraordinary performance. Oakland: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Ingram, J. R., Paoline, E. A., & Terrill, W. (2013). A multilevel framework for understanding police culture: The role of the workgroup. Criminology, 51(2), 365-397.
Rosegrant, S. (2000). The Flawed Emergency Response to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Cambridge, MA: John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Yukl, G., Mahsud, R., Hassan, S., & Prussia, G. E. (2013). An improved measure of ethical leadership. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 20(1), 38-48.
