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He was the new face of the Nation of Islam when he arrived in Los Angeles 10 years ago. Softening the organization's old image as an anti-white, anti-police black separatist movement, Minister Tony Muhammad reached out to religious leaders, politicians and even law enforcement to help fight violence.
But when Muhammad recently appeared at a news conference with his face swollen and bruised in what he alleges was an unjust police beating, it seemed to symbolize a return to the old days of tense relations with law enforcement.
Muhammad's injuries, which the Los Angeles Police Department asserts occurred when he was handcuffed and forced to the ground after allegedly assaulting an officer during a vigil, followed a string of controversial police actions, including the shooting death of 13-year-old Devin Brown. The actions drew protests in minority communities and raised questions about Police Chief William J. Bratton's community policing efforts.
Muhammad, who had worked closely with former Police Chief Bernard C. Parks and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, said he and Bratton initially hit it off, frequently meeting for lunch and dinner. But in the last year, he said, the relationship had cooled amid disagreement over how to approach gang members.
Bratton declined to comment on his relationship with Muhammad because the leader could still be charged in the Aug. 25 arrest. But the chief acknowledged he has met with Muhammad more often than any other South Los Angeles community leader.
In an interview last week, Muhammad repeatedly voiced hopes for reconciliation and rapprochement.
"I'm never going to stop trying to work with the LAPD to make L.A. a safer and better place," he said. "This is a great opportunity to heal, and that's what I want to see."
Although Muhammad, who is celebrating his 10-year anniversary this year as the Nation of Islam's Los Angeles-based Western regional minister, has strongly criticized the LAPD for the Devin Brown shooting, he paints...