On this day in 1951, LAPD officers beat 7 imprisoned civilians, an event known as "Bloody Christmas". Police leadership covered up the abuse, but, after an investigation, 8 officers were indicted, 54 were transferred, and 39 were suspended. The event was fictionalized in the 1990 novel "L.A. Confidential" by James Ellroy, later made into the film of the same name.
On Christmas Eve 1951, LAPD officers Julius Trojanowski and Nelson Brownson responded to a report that minors were drinking alcohol. Officers accosted seven men - five Mexican, two white - at the scene, and ordered them to leave despite the fact that they had identification proving they were old enough to drink.
When the men refused to leave, officers used force. In the ensuing scuffle, both cops were injured. Seven hours after the fight, LAPD officers arrested all seven men at their own homes.
Six were taken straight to the Los Angeles Central City Jail, however one was dragged to a squad car by his hair and driven to the city's Elysian Park, where he was beaten so badly that he required two blood transfusions due to the extent of his injuries.
The remaining six prisoners were taken from their cells in the Central City Jail and lined up by dozens of cops, many of them drunk. Approximately 50 officers then participated in a beating that lasted for 95 minutes, giving the men severe injuries that included punctured organs and broken facial bones.
Senior LAPD management kept the attack on the prisoners out of the mainstream news for almost three months. Media coverage ignored the beatings on Christmas Day and focused on the brawl the night before.
Members of the Mexican-American community pushed for a focus on police brutality and, as more reports of violence flooded in, the media began to turn against the LAPD, running stories condemning police tactics. Despite initiating an internal investigation, LAPD Police Chief William Parker was dismissive, suggesting that criminals were alleging police brutality to get him fired so that the L.A. underworld could re-establish its illegal activities.
The internal investigation's report uncovered a widespread culture of police brutality, leading to grand jury hearings against the LAPD. Officers who had previously given detailed information to internal affairs investigators could remember very little in court.
Despite police attempts to obstruct the hearings, they resulted in eight officers being indicted for assault. Five of them were convicted, but only one received a sentence of more than a year in prison. A further 54 officers were transferred, and 39 were temporarily suspended without pay.