The Coalition Against Police Abuse (CAPA) is a currently active community organization in Los Angeles with the stated aim of organizing marginalized groups such as the poor, homosexuals, blacks, and Latinos to prevent, expose, and resist abuse by police and seek legal redress for such abuse.

History and Basic Principles

The group was founded in the mid 1970s by

Michael Zinzun Michael Zinzun (February 14, 1949 – July 9, 2006) was an African American Black Panther and anti-police brutality activist . Early life Zinzun was born in Chicago and lived in the Cabrini–Green housing projects during the early part of ...

who remained an important leader and personality within the group until his peaceful death in July 2006. Zinzun and many other members of the group were former low-ranking members of the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

. The BPP left an important, and acknowledged, aesthetic and political legacy for members of CAPA but has never been viewed uncritically. Many members of CAPA believe that the Panther's vanguardist and patriarchal organizational methods weakened it. Many members believe this both: obstructed the harnessing of the power of ordinary members of the black community — and left the group overly vulnerable to decapitation by the government as various leaders were killed and imprisoned. CAPA aims at empowering those it serves and has adopted the motto "we will work with you, not for you." This means that when a person approaches CAPA with a complaint about

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

CAPA will assist them and seek to empower the victim(s) to actively participate in their case and act as representatives to the community. CAPA had a no-guns policy, and Zinzun would not let members of the BPP bring guns to a CAPA meeting.

Gang Truce

CAPA, along with other organizations, has been instrumental in facilitating the

LA Gang Truce LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

and seeks to recruit gang members to redirect their energies from criminal activities that harm themselves and the community toward community activism.

Allied Organizations

The organization is based in South Central LA and shares its headquarters with the

Peace and Freedom Party The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a left-wing political party with affiliates and former members in more than a dozen American states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana and Utah, but none now have ballot status besides C ...

. The organizations are distinct although there is a partial overlap in membership with both sets of members often interacting and cooperating. Since the early 1980s CAPA has maintained a close relationship with the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

which has often provided legal assistance to the group.

References

* * Police oversight organizations Organizations based in Los Angeles Los Angeles Police Department Government watchdog groups in the United States Criticism of police brutality {{poli-org-stub