2013 Warning Bells Articles

December 2013 – South Bureau Training for Supervisors

I was recently invited to a South Bureau training event provided to the sergeants and lieutenants in the bureau. This event gave me the unusual view of hearing what a deputy chief was imparting to the front-line supervisors in terms of how, when and why policy was to be enforced. Almost everything the deputy chief told the supervisors seemed to be based on common sense. Despite this, I see on a daily basis the wreckage that is too often visited on the troops when some of those policies eventually work their way down to street level.  [Full Article]

November 2013 – “To React and To Serve”

The LAPD motto inscribed on all of our car doors was adopted in 1955. The Department held a contest to come up with a motto, and Officer Joseph Dorobek won with his submission, “To Protect and To Serve.” Obviously, the motto can be seen best when the police car is stopped and both doors are opening because the officers inside are getting out to do police work. Getting out and investigating things is in the DNA of young officers in patrol, but you can teach them that opening that door is a bad idea. After all, it is their inherent nature that gets them out of their cars — their paychecks will stay the same either way, so it isn’t the money. [Full Article]

October 2013 – Are you special?

A recent article in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin (September 2013) addressed the issue of criminal interrogations of officers after critical use of force incidents. It is, of course, written by two authors who will never have to be interrogated, so they are viewing the matter from a distance, but they do a good job of discussing the various sides of the issues. [Full Article]

September 2013 – Can’t we all just get along?

The attorney/client privilege prevents me from going into details, but in the last couple of weeks there seems to have been a rash of treatment by investigators assigned to Professional Standards Bureau directed toward officers that ranges from callous all the way to brutal. Let me also say that there are many in PSB who do treat officers with respect, but those who do not give the discipline system a bad name completely out of proportion to their numbers. We need a little understanding from both the investigators and the investigated.  [Full article]

August 2013 – Is the Police Commission starting to wake up?

Maybe… During the July 2 session of the Police Commission, the Inspector General presented the results of an investigation into why the Department is losing so much money in lawsuits to officers who sue the Department for various violations of their rights. The Inspector General’s audit found that the City of Los Angeles pays out as much money for management abuses against Department employees as the City pays out for officer involved traffic accidents. That sum is $31 million for each incident, according to the IG. Another estimated $43 million is spent in defending against these types of cases. That’s $74 million of taxpayer money going out of the City coffers.  [Full Article]

July 2013 – Doing Right vs Being Right

A new city attorney has been elected. Hopefully, he can straighten some things out that need to be addressed in the role of legal advice to the Department. Former City Attorney Trutanich complained about the lack of city attorneys and about the workload. Maybe that situation had something to do with the inability or unwillingness of the city attorney’s office to control the Department’s ego in legal matters. The Department doesn’t seem to be able to live with a judge telling them they are wrong  [Full Article]

June 2013 – Accuracy versus political expediency

I attended a seminar in Northern California in early May titled “Deadly Force in the Digital Era.” Basically, it was about the issue of capturing deadly force incidents on videotape. Videotaping of incidents, as all of us are aware, has become more and more common.  [Full Article]

May 2013 – The Wake of a Bullet

I recently attended an AELE seminar titled “The Management, Oversight and Monitoring of Use of Force.” One of the speakers was from the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. These are scary folks. They travel around the country investigating police agencies for violations of civil rights. In essence, they brought you the Consent Decree that was imposed on the LAPD in 2001 and is responsible for many of the policies that you operate under, especially in the field of Use of Force. [Full Article]

April 2013 – Is the Boards of Rights system fair?

The Dorner manifesto talks about the fairness of the LAPD discipline system. The Chief said he was going to review Dorner’s case because he wants transparency. I personally received two calls from terminated officers who abhor what Dorner did but both independently stated that Dorner’s description of the discipline system resonated with them. Each said they knew exactly what he was talking about. [Full Article]

March 2013 – You Are Not a Potted Plant

There is more chill wind blowing out of Internal Affairs lately. In addition to some investigators resisting answering the League card questions discussed last month, reports have come in that any other questions from the accused officer’s representative are being resisted. Apparently, the accused officers are supposed to be good little boys and girls and take their medicine silently without protest. [Full Article]

February 2013 – Is 52 seconds too much to ask?

It takes 52 seconds to read the League card at the beginning of an Internal Affairs interview. Apparently for some in IA management, that is just too time-consuming. “I don’t have to answer those questions” has been the response of some IA investigators. [Full Article]

January 2013 – A matter of Perspective?

The public and all too often Department management seem to find it difficult to stand in an officer’s shoes. For instance, think about this question: How many gunshots are necessary in a shooting situation? It’s a mathematical question for those not involved in the shooting. Averages are calculated and compared, past shootings are examined and percentages are determined. Criteria are constructed and Monday-morning quarterbacking runs wild. [Full Article]