LAPD's Notorious Cop: Rafael Pérez and the Rampart Scandal

Rafael Pérez was supposed to serve and protect — instead, he became the center of one of the most explosive police corruption scandals in U.S. history. As an officer with the LAPD's elite CRASH unit, Pérez wasn’t just breaking the rules — he was planting evidence, stealing drugs, framing suspects, and covering up violent crimes. His arrest in 1998 exposed deep-rooted corruption within the Rampart Division and forced Los Angeles to face a dark truth about its police force.

In this episode, we uncover the rise and fall of Rafael Pérez, the massive fallout from the Rampart Scandal, and how one cop’s crimes unraveled trust in law enforcement across an entire city. 

Was he a lone bad actor — or a symptom of a much bigger problem?

Rafael Pérez, Rampart Scandal, LAPD corruption, dirty cop, police misconduct, CRASH unit, Los Angeles crime, police scandal, Rafael Pérez case, LAPD history, law enforcement corruption, frame jobs, true crime, police betrayal, drug theft, badge abuse, Rafael Pérez LAPD, cover-ups, internal affairs, true crime podcast


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