1. Parker's thin blue line : the professional-reform model (PRM) of policing : historical overview -- 2. The study : a qualitative analysis of LAPD's organizational dying declarations -- 3. Assessing the meltdown -- 4. The Rodney King incident -- 5. Politicians, special interest groups, and community influences -- 6. Hiring, promotions, and affirmative action -- 7. Management and administration -- 8. Quantitative analyses -- 9. Conclusions and policy recommendations : reconstructing the meltdown.