Even the new MTA trains in East L.A. are proof of the racism in our system, the MTA system in East L.A. is designed to kill as many latino eastside residents as possible. The trains in the westside are very different and safe, the MTA trains are another example of racism aand hate of latinos.

Rubin writes that for all his exemplary successes and using his ego to good advantage, Bratton sometimes had “churlish politics – last spring, Bratton threatened to remove officers from the Westside when the area’s councilman (Rosendahl) voted to halt police hiring because of the city’s budget crisis.” This is an absolutely untrue attribution of cause and effect: Bratton had made it clear all along, in particular at a Dec 08 meeting on the very issue of relative deployment of cops to Westside vs. rest of the city, hosted BY Rosendahl (in response to counstituent discontent over an LAT statement that he was having to move cops OUT of the westside to more violent areas as part of his Compstat program) that the 10,000 number is a minimum to spread cops around the city as constituents would like. Any short of that, and he’d have to leave some lower-crime areas like Rosendahl’s (and Weiss’s, now Koretz’s) districts with even few cops assigned their full-time. (HOWEVER moving them back in the moment any situation demanded it.) Residents complained at the meeting that this left them feeling too vulnerable, and Bratton urged them to express their feelings to their mayor and councilmembers, who were talking about reducing funding and total cops, since he could only do the best he could with the cops he had, obviously. This may sound too obvious to be repeated, but clearly it isn’t, since Rosendahl didn’t get the idea or later, chose to pretend he hadn’t heard it, when he voted to reduce the force (namely, to join Parks and Smith in saying that the trash fee hikes promised for cops were never meant for cops), yet demanded that cops be deployed in his district commensurate with what constituents demanded, regardless of the realities.
All Bratton did was remind Rosendahl of what he’d been stating all along, that he couldn’t have it both ways.

I remember that whole discussion vividly because it was also the subject of email blasts from my neighborhood council and others, and it seemed odd how dense Rosendahl was being in trying to shift the blame for fewer cops onto Bratton somehow instead of his own role in budget decisions.

This myopia seems to persist – I noted it in Jan Perry’s Op Ed, where she criticizes LAPD (Bratton) for not putting even more cops into her district (echoing Parks), even as they were among those voting to reduce the total force. All 3 of these councilmembers seem to be playing to their own districts politically, but making no sense as city-wide policymakers. They all demand more cops (in fact, Perry and Parks’ districts already have more than their 1/15 because of need, while westside constituents are angry about not getting their full 1/15) and then leave the Chief as the fallguy for inevitably not being able to please everyone at once with a reduced force. In his Jewish Journal piece last week, Jack Weiss reminds us of this inherent conflict, which he head to deal with, that they’ll have to choose between what sounds good to their districts, and what can be done with the numbers, even if it’s politically unpopular. That may mean Rosendahl and Koretz explaining to constituents why they support Compstat’s deploying more cops to hot spots like Parks’ and Perry’s, WHILE at the same time, Parks and Perry seem to feel they never have enough cops – even as they opposed this week’s settlement with the PPL because it might reduce police deployment to their own districts. This is just plain incoherent “public policy” at the city level, and the Chief will have to go into the job knowing whatever he does will be criticized by both those with districts who have more need, and those with constituents who feel they’re not getting what they pay for.

I’m sure Beck is well aware of this and his “unflappable” style can calm and reassure all sides and continue to do what’s best for the city as a whole: reducing the most violent crimes as a priority. BUT it doesn’t help when Rubin (and Willon) set up the scenario in such a false way, blaming it on Bratton’s “churlish” style instead of the me-first myopia of city leaders, and in effect, taking the side of those who are blaming the Chief for their own failure to make and stick to coherent policy.

And, yes, that Ron Kaye blog post last week was unbelievably stupid.

Curious fact I keep reading: that Beck’s mother is in her 80’s but still a champ in her category of weightlifting. Celeste, if you have any confirmation of that let us know. He himself is the Motocross champ for LAPD, or something: being in top physical shape and having the genes for it isn’t vital to the job, but is a big plus in my book.

I think it was in fact a done deal before the weekend. That’s what we all heard. But last night there was a whole last minute kerfuffle. More on that later.

I think Charlie will be great. And Jim also would have been great. Different guys, different strengths. But Charlie can stand his ground, trust me.