2012 Warning Bells articles

December 2012 – Why doesn’t transparency apply to Internal Affairs

Chief Beck apologized to the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 4 for failing to disclose that a recent officer-involved shooting press release did not contain the fact that the suspect was handcuffed when the shooting occurred. [Full Article]

November 2012 – Beware of Brady when you write that arrest report

Just to make sure that your life as a police officer cannot get less complicated, a lot of disciplinary attention lately has been paid to what is not in an arrest report as well as what is. This reverberates around the understanding and misunderstanding of the so-called Brady Rule. [Full Article]

October 2012 – What happens when a Captain-3 is treated like a P-2

Through the courtesy of YouTube and the local media, we have all probably seen the video of our officers dealing with the traffic violator and the use of force used on her.  The officer involved appears to throw the handcuffed female to the ground and although the video is grainy, the violator and her attorney appear in crystal-clear color showing the resulting injuries to the news media. [Full Article]

September 2012 – We currently have five officers being criminally prosecuted over reports and court testimony

We all want the bad guy to go to jail. We all want to see the criminal punished. That is why we make arrests, write reports and testify in court. But beware of the pitfalls in pursuing this goal. Your mistakes can be turned against you in unexpected ways. [Full Article]

August 2012 – Driving and shooting are going to have a lot in common

Although when you shoot you are trying to hit something and when you drive you are trying not to hit something, there are going to be similarities between the two by the time you read this. That similarity will be the thoroughness of the Department’s investigation when someone is hurt. Traffic collisions involving police vehicles that result in “K” (death) or “A” (major injury) injuries have, for all practical purposes, been elevated to the status of categorical uses of force. And you know what that means: overtime, whether you want it or not. [Full Article]

July 2012 – Don’t get your body attached!

From the point of view of the hardworking officer who makes many arrests and writes more than his or her share of tickets, court appearances in a time of no cash overtime can be burdensome. Hard cash goes out for gas and transportation with little visible benefit, while days off and vacations are brutalized with no apparent reward. [Full Article]

June 2012 – The city attorney is not always your friend

Some disturbing practices appear to exist with regard to the city attorney’s office that are at best unfair and at worst underhanded. Normally, the city attorney is on the officer’s side and defends him or her in the lawsuits that are routinely filed against officers for arrests, shootings, traffic accidents or just no reason at all. They do a great job and deserve our praise and gratitude. [Full Article]

May 2012 – Chief Beck on Gotcha

When Chief Bratton replaced Chief Parks as the head of the Department, he had an immediate problem. The Parks harsh disciplinary system had convinced patrol officers that the mere act of getting out of their cars risked career suicide. Thus, smile-and-wave was replacing stop-and-frisk. Predictably, arrests went way down and crime went way up. When Bratton addressed his first Delegate’s Conference, he told the audience of delegates that he had never seen a department that ate its own like the LAPD did. [Full Article] 

April 2012 – Hey, who cares? It’s someone else’s tax dollars!

Councilman Dennis Zine (currently running for city controller) asked a question that hasn’t been asked before: Why are police officers successfully suing the Department, forcing the City to pay out millions in damages from jury verdicts?  [Full Article]

March 2012 – New Digital In Car Video System Order

By the time you read this, the new South Bureau order on the Digital In-Car Video System (DICVS) will have been out for a few weeks. The first thing you should understand is that turning on the video camera when you are required to is a big deal to management. The second thing you should understand is that there’s a philosophical war in progress among those in command of the Department over the true purpose of the DICVS.  [Full Article]

February 2012 – Courts Recognize Issues

The Department didn’t, but this time, at least, the judge had the last word and two officers who had been terminated were reinstated by the court with full back pay and interest. It went down like this, according to public court records. About two-and-a-half years ago (yes, the process is lengthy), our two officers were working the Violent Crime Task Force. Apparently, one of their contacts became unhappy with them, or maybe someone else; it was hard to tell. [Full Article]

January 2012 – What We Wish Would be the Chief’s New Year’s Resolution

Starting a new year always inspires everyone to look back at the old year and try to evaluate what went right, what  went wrong and what can be done to improve our lives in the coming year. Improvements usually take the form of New  Year’s resolutions. Looking back at last year on the officers’ rights front reveals one disaster after another coming from the Department,  chiefly Internal Affairs (mostly management decisions, the overwhelming majority of IA investigators in the trenches do a  good job).  [Full Article]