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    After anonymous complaints, LAPD brass left wondering: Who is 'Mel Smith'?

    by Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times Nov 05, 2023 5 minutes
    Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023.

    For months, someone has been filing anonymous complaints against senior members of the Los Angeles Police Department using the pseudonym "Mel Smith," with allegations ranging from disputes over a coveted office at police headquarters to more serious matters such as steering contracts in exchange for bribes.

    The Mel Smith files are only a fraction of the hundreds of anonymous complaints the LAPD receives against employees every year, according to Michael Rimkunas, the deputy chief in charge of the Professional Standards Bureau. There were 564 such complaints lodged between 2020 and 2022, 90 of which resulted in some "corrective action" — department-speak for a verbal reprimand, suspension, or other discipline.

    But because of the uniquely detailed and specific nature of the claims, Mel Smith's identity has been a matter of intense speculation among the department's upper echelons for months, with some suspecting a high-level insider is responsible.

    Police discipline matters are typically shielded from

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