Los Angeles; Today, the Los Angeles Police Commission approved a blueprint for the Blue Ribbon Rampart Review Panel’s future plan. Led by prominent Civil Rights Attorney Connie Rice, the nine-member volunteer Panel is tasked with not only investigating the underlying elements of the Rampart corruption scandal, but more importantly, what has occurred within the Los Angeles Police Department since the 1999 report of the incident. The blueprint presented today outlined specific action points that are required for the Panel’s success, such as the waiving of conflicts that may exist for panel members, defending and indemnifying the Panelists, and working to expedite the processing of donated funds, among other items. This blueprint will be forwarded to the Mayor and the City Council for their approval.

The Panel’s budget, which includes investigators, clerical support, paralegal and writing support, consultant services, rent, copying and office supplies, and travel expenses, is estimated at $367,000. Recently, requests have been made to local law firms and foundations to financially help the Blue Ribbon Rampart Review Panel reach its goal.

Los Angeles Police Commission President David S. Cunningham, III, stated, "I am especially pleased to see that many caring organizations are so willing to support the financial needs of this Panel. Their enthusiastic support is proof that the community wants to put the Rampart incident behind it as much as the LAPD does. We will all benefit from the Panel’s final product."

The nine-member volunteer Blue Ribbon Rampart Review Panel was convened in July of this year. The Panel’s mission is to investigate and review the response by the city and others to the Rampart Area scandal in order to determine the extent to which the underlying causes for the scandal have been identified and addressed. The Panel will make findings regarding the adequacy of the city’s response and will make recommendations for reforms designed to prevent any such event from ever occurring in the future. The Panel’s efforts will result in a report to the Police Commission, which the Commission will make available to the public.