RE: Batons and Rubber Bullets

2. It’s entirely unacceptable to fire rubber bullets into a crowd of people unless there’s a true emergency. This wasn’t an emergency. Those bottle-throwing guys you tangled with earlier where nowhere in the vicinity by then. And the videos make clear that the rubber bullets were being fired indiscriminately in order to herd the crowd, which included mothers with their kids. Not okay. A high up member of LAPD command staff once remarked to me that he thought the department had an overdeveloped concern, almost a fetish really, for officer safety, and that it sometimes kicked in at moments like these—and not in a good way

2. The press have a job to do and, on Monday in Mac Arthur park, they had every legal right to be doing it. You were the ones out of line. We thought this issue was cleared up conclusively seven years ago after LAPD officers assaulted several reporters outside the Democratic National Convention. In a settlement with the ACLU (the assaulted reporters acting as plaintiffs) the department agreed that, after an order of dispersal (as happened on Monday), the press still had a right to be present. Why didn’t every officer in riot gear know that? These weren’t patrol officers, these are cops from SOB—Special Operations Bureau. One would think that being up to speed on reporter/police/ crowd protocols might be a relevant part of their job description.

Furthermore, the reporters reporters you pushed and hit had very visible press badges —LAPD issued press passes, in fact—and/or large expensive TV cameras.

3. We don’t need nine months to investigate this. My journalism students have to turn in highly researched 20 page papers, plus weekly assignments, all in a ten week quarter. And they have three or four other teachers making equivalent demands on their time. Surely the professionals investigating these incidents can get us some kind of result by the end of June.

4. It’s good that Chief Bratton got out there fast and said all the right things. But, the truth is, somebody else besides the LAPD must run an investigation. The mayor has asked the Inspector General, Andre Birotte, and the Police Commission to investigate along with the police. No disrespect to Andre intended, but that’s not good enough. The IG’s job is, theoretically, to provide the department with some civilian oversight and Birotte is an ethical, smart, savvy guy. Sadly, however, he can investigate ‘till the cows come home but, until he has the power to institute disciplinary actions, his investigations don’t mean a damn thing.

5. Frankly, District Attorney Steve Cooley should be the one to launch his own investigation. Will somebody ask him please?

6. It’s important to remember, there were thousands of LAPD officers deployed on the streets on May 1st. And, as with the marchers, only a few behaved questionably. The majority—of both groups—were a credit to the city.