Turns out the LAPD is not only “majority minority,” but it's also dominated by Latino officers.

That's according to the latest data about the department's sworn personnel, which was circulated this week by the Latin American Law Enforcement Association, a.k.a. LA LEY:

Latinos comprise the biggest ethnic group in the department, beating out whites by 43 percent to nearly 35 percent, according to the data.

African Americans represent nearly 12 percent of sworn officers, and Asian Americans are at 7 percent, 9 if you include Filipinos.

Credit: LAPD

Credit: LAPD

But — and there's always a caveat with these things — the people who run the department reflect more the people who run the rest of America:

The LAPD's command staff — assistant chiefs, deputy chiefs, captains commanders, and administrators, mainly the decision-makers in charge of local divisions and larger bureaus — is 55 percent white and nearly 45 percent minority.

Only about one in five command staffers is Latino.

On the flip side, only about one in three (nearly 35 percent) of cops who are ranked lieutenant and below are white. The rest are minorities.

As a point of reference, the city of Los Angeles is only 28 percent white and nearly half Hispanic.

What to take from this? Whatever you want. The department has come a long way from appearing to be an Apartheid-like occupying force in some communities. However, it still has a way to go until its leadership looks like the rest of L.A.

See also:

*Joe Jones Manifesto: Black Ex-LAPD Cop Says Of Dorner, 'I Understand.'

*Wayne K. Guillary, LAPD Sgt., Appeals To Dorner, Says Cop Racism Remains.

Send feedback and tips to the author. Follow Dennis Romero on Twitter at @dennisjromero. Follow LA Weekly News on Twitter at @laweeklynews.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.