LA Weekly examines LA Police Chief William Bratton's decision to open up the Ramparts scandal to an independent investigation in Bring on the Dirty Cops:

But even before he applied for the job last year, Bratton knew the department would never fully recapture its stature, its morale or its effectiveness until the subject of Rampart was finally closed. And he knew that to be closed, it must finally be fully opened.

In October, before taking the oath as chief, Bratton called for a new internal LAPD probe into the whole disaster. But a few months on the job convinced him that another inside report would never remove the stain of scandal. Last month, he told the Police Commission that he wants an outside, independent probe.

This is what police reformers had been seeking, and City Hall had been resisting, for years. Why the change now? The first answer is the most obvious one --Bratton is an outsider. No matter how disturbing the revelations that may come out of any new probe, they will not directly tarnish this chief from New York with the Boston accent.

This is something that could never be said of career LAPD officer Bernard Parks, who was in charge of Internal Affairs and later Operations when much of the misconduct occurred, even though he fervently insisted as chief that it was his leadership and discipline that brought the conspiracy to light.

There's lots more, go read the whole thing. Then go over and read two more LA Weekly articles:

The new guy in town — Bill Bratton — has a good idea. He wants to know just how deep Rampart-style sins go in L.A. Here are two cases that might be worth another look by the chief. CELESTE FREMON records the final moments of the life of 19-year-old Flavio Aragon, who bled to death in 1994 in the presence of police officers. CHARLES RAPPLEYE examines the death of Erik Vega, who was shot in 1996 after officers dropped him off near rival gang territory.