Pictures of Los Angeles Police Rampart Division 1994

In 1994, photographer Joseph Rodríguez had unprecedented access to cover Los Angeles Police for two weeks for The New York Times. This was three years after Rodney King’s beating was videotaped and two years after riots broke out following the acquittal of the four officers involved, leading to a judgment on the use of force which is as familiar as it is unsolved today.

Rodríguez, a well-known documentary photographer who grew up in Brooklyn and is no stranger to the criminal justice system, was sent to document a police force that was trying to reshape its image within the community. The unit with which he joined, called the “Rampart Division”, is now known for a corruption scandal that erupted a few years later. At the time, Rodríguez observed and documented cops responding to shootings and calls for domestic violence, firing guns at gang members and patrolling neighborhoods day in and day out.

In an age where many interactions with the police are captured on cell phone videos and shared on social media, it is striking to see images that document the complex role of officers on and off duty. Rodríguez’s photos highlight the issues we still grapple with today about justice, force, racism and who can commit violence against whom. Despite being taken over two decades ago, the photos offer a glimpse into how the police perceive themselves, something crucial to understand when we consider who we are as a society. Rodríguez turned the work into a new book, LAPD 1994. The photographs are also on display at the Bronx Documentary Center (and, conveniently, online). He spoke with BuzzFeed News about his complicated feelings about cops and how a social documentary can help change narratives.

How did this mission start?

When this project started, I was coming out of two years of really in-depth investigative work on Los Angeles gangs. I was really exhausted, but one thing I learned from Gilles Peress, the Magnum war photographer, is that whenever you have access you have to take it. I knew it was a unique affair. We were about to enter a police station (which turned out to be extremely corrupt), but they gave me access, they let me drive with them for a few weeks. It was strange to be sitting in the backseat of a police car, but this time with a camera. I knew what I was looking at and just had to keep my eyes open. I knew this wasn’t going to last, so I just didn’t sleep for two weeks, basically.

What was your reaction to showing that the police work with compassion?

I think there are a lot of good cops here. There really is. I understand the criminal justice system and how it works. There are good people and there are bad people, but I was very attentive to that blue shield of silence.

Was I trying to make them look good? No, I’m just a humanist. So I photograph the person in front of me, and that’s it. The number one crime in this country is really domestic violence. And they see this every day, and it shocks you. Let’s not be naive – Rampart [Division] was really corrupt. It was one of the more corrupt police divisions, and I only found out about it after an article came out and the FBI went there, etc.

Back then, you had two of the most powerful gangs in Los Angeles, the MS-13 and the 18th Street gang. I had photographed some of these guys, so I knew how serious these guys were. That crash unit that I was driving with, their main job was to get guns off the streets.

In a way, the LAPD was like another gang. They would do things and keep things quiet. The story is there in the book and there will be an open discussion at BDC. It will be interesting, how people read these images and what they mean.

What do you think of the police now?

I saw things get tense after we militarized the police. What I saw on the ground, the militarization of the police after 9/11 – just an incredible amount of money came in. There’s been a build-up of Reagan, Clinton, and all of a sudden there’s this barrage of cops coming in like the Avengers. They don’t even talk to anyone, grab everyone, grab the guns.

In your mind, what is the ideal role of a police officer?

You see a little in LAPD 1994. There was Officer Llanes. They were on patrol one night and they ran into this woman. She cries and yells in a phone booth, and they leave. There is no gun or anything. It’s a very different kind of picture. They see her every other day, and it’s community policing. They talk to her and try to get her off the street.

In another image, you barely see Llanes in the frame. It’s a big, wide picture, and you’ve got the father and the little kid, and it’s a call for domestic violence, and he’s trying to calm things down. This is what I remember from the police in the 60s and 70s. There were regular agents who worked in the same neighborhoods for 20 years, so they got to know the pizzeria, they got to know the people. high school students. So it was more of a conversation. Today is very little conversation, and there is the latent question of “What is the police’s position on their own racial issues?” If you’re doing the day-to-day work out of these quarters, I mean, phew. Guys said they had more divorces than any other division. It’s hard work to do. But I’m not here to make you look good. I’m just here to show the truth, show the moments. Even with my own subjective feelings and issues with the police, I kept it separate because it’s work. I am not an activist. I’m not going in there to hurt you either

I loved that moment where there’s a new baby in the neighborhood and the cop in the car is like, Oh hey look, there’s our new baby. It’s the old way. He wasn’t an angel either, but it was nice to see this humanity.

I want to be clear – one of the things that attracted me every night was the simple feeling of gun violence. It was like walking down the street, at 2 p.m., and there would be knuckleheads with a bunch of shotguns, AK-47s, shooting it. It was really like that. I was very tired. I spent six months in therapy after that and Stories from the east side [another book by Rodríguez]. PTSD is a fun thing; it builds up on you and hits you like a ton of bricks.

What is your favorite image of this work?

I like the first photo of the policeman polishing his shoes. There is something in this picture, with the sign on the wall, “everyone here brings happiness”. Oh man, come on, are you serious? And you look at the face of the shoe shiner coming up. It’s just – with all the black polish coming out of the box, that is, to me, a big part of our history. Who is at the top, who does service.

This other image that I really liked was that of the two detectives, the close-up, because it’s so different: the police in Los Angeles versus New York. In LA, they wear Armani costumes. They really like this look. In New York, they wear polyester. I found it to be quite interesting.

It’s not that kind of book that makes you feel good or that makes you feel warm. It’s a document about his particular time and what was going on. One of the other photos that seems almost surreal to me is the gun in the grass after this guy has just been shot. That’s the proof right there. This is America’s problem.

Do you have any tips for budding photographers?

Access is 90% of the game. Put that person on the other side of the phone. I know what it’s like to be down there. I know what it’s like to be in trouble. I know what it’s like to be in an angry space. I use my photography to bring hope to something. I wouldn’t say it’s a very promising book, but it’s okay. You can see it in my Taxi book, which is a very different book from New York at the time. I’m a social realism guy. I grew up with this practice of social documentary, “Where’s the problem? What’s the problem? Let’s try to make some corrections. I think sometimes you have to look back to make sense of today.