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Photo by discarted via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
After the Daily News' story on the Culver City based RateMyCop.com, the LA Times comes out with an editorial opinion on the site when talking about the hypocrisies of police accountability. "Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton tends to honor it in the breach -- he proclaims the department accountable, then decries those who scrutinize its work," the opinion with no author reads. "Critics of the LAPD demand transparency but sometimes fail to take advantage of it. Leaders of the city's police union insist that they believe in it but often work to undermine it." And as to rating your cop, the Times digs it:
The Los Angeles Police Protective League says it has received a number of complaints from members, and [ratemycop.com's] managers have received plenty of objections too. But opposition is fruitless and unwise. Fruitless because, like it or not, we live in a world in which the Internet offers endless opportunity for self-expression and critique. Unwise because police are consummately public officials, carrying out duties that deserve public scrutiny and comment. It has long been said that the most powerful person in the criminal justice system is an officer in the moment of encounter with a suspect. That's true, and those encounters warrant the closest attention possible. RateMyCop.com may be a crude device, but it's a worthy one.
Those encounters, indeed, do need attention. Incidents like Monday morning in Hollywood on Curson St. where a homeless man lying on the ground allegedly "lunged" at officers with a knife forcing officers to shoot a reported six fatal rounds at him. One person, who wishes to remain anonymous, e-mailed LAist saying that " knew the homeless man who was killed on Curson this week - he was a sweet, surprisingly normal guy who was a musician, who was never drunk or high in all the time I knew him." The e-mail described the silence of the night and "then suddenly: shot, shot - then long wails and screams - then 3 more quick shots. But who the hell's gonna stand up against the mob in blue for a homeless guy, right?"
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Yeah, I'm wondering why it takes 6 rounds to subdue a guy with a knife who's just been awakened too, especially with several cops standing around.
Whatever happened to less-than-lethal force?
The words 'trigger happy' and 'Wyatt Earp Syndrome' come too easily to mind and they always seem to be followed by the terms 'million dollar settlement' and 'city budget woes'.
I agree with the Times but not with the LAist last statement.
Who the f knows what the guy was doing with the knife. Everyone can snap. Just because someone saw this dude never high or drunk doesn't mean he wasn't that night. Who knows who is right or wrong but we all sure don't know what the cops deal with day in and day out. I don't agree with cops all the time but they do have the toughest job around.
Complaining about police IS fruitless.
I wrote a letter to Pasadena Star News on how I was unjustly detained by South Pasadena PD for "Walking While Brown" (my title) - yes...I was walking home.
I tried calling SPPD to complain about it(the same day it occurred), and they basically told me it was a waste of my time to try to do anything.
Then after my letter was printed, the Chief of SPPD wrote me a letter basically saying that I was probably drunk and didn't remember the actual events, but his letter was filled with inaccuracies given to him by the 4 police officers involved, not to mention they can no longer remember the reason they stopped me (!? which is the whole point). He included a complaint form in the letter, but again, the tone of the letter suggested that it would be a waste of my time to actually fill it out and file it.
That's the police for you...just accept what they do to you - because it's probably YOUR fault...especially if you're Latino in a predominately white neighborhood.
Bernie, that was not LAist's statement, rather a local person.
The police get their say and this person is getting theirs. The internal investigation will play out and we'll see what happens in the end.
With police work, you can never assume anything about what you witness, visually or aurally, but you must take into account what people say and include it.
Understood Zach, couldn't tell if that was a person's account or LAist's. Either way, keep up the great work on this site! Love it.
as soon as i heard about this story it seemed likely that this sleeping man had a knife with him in order to protect himself during the night. however, on this night he was awakened by the cops instead. thus, startling him and forcing him to react before realizing it was not your stereotypical predator. which in hindsight, is now kind of ironic.
i spend a lot of time with people like this man and many of them do keep a weapon in order to protect themselves from being assaulted or robbed.
and in regards to the police being monitored ratemycop, cop watch LA, and check-a-pig as well as many other organizations monitoring police behavior are a necessity. cops must now realize they are accountable for their actions and we have the legal right as well as the obligation to monitor all of their behavior -- legal or illegal. i just wished there was a third party that monitored them regularaly and truly crack down on them.
you know, i wondered if somebody stabbed me in the hand while out photographing people if i could justifiably shoot them 6 times and face zero repercussions.
i wonder
"it seemed likely that this sleeping man had a knife with him in order to protect himself during the night."
ITA discarted. If I had to sleep in an alley with no locked door to seperate me from who ever might want to steal from me or work me over with a baseball bat, Id have a knife or something too.
It looks like we'll be talking with someone from RateMyCop on Digital Village this Saturday.
Most police carry some kind of "drop weapon," which is specifically for planting on people they shouldn't have killed. Knives are popular because they are easy to get, easy to explain, and they aren't traceable.
When you hear that a police officer shot and killed someone who suddenly lunged at him with a knife and no apparent motive, it's a drop weapon.
In each case, it's the officers' word against the dead person's. No matter how out of character the fabricated assault, the inquest will conclude the deceased was drunk/enraged/confused, or had a flash of insanity, or was taken by surprise.
I live one block over from the shooting. I was awake that night and heard three loud shots... two together, then a pause, then one more.
The story doesn't add up for me. A group of cops have to shoot a man dead? They couldn't take some steps back and try to control the situation with a lesser show of force? Initial accounts said they woke him up at 4 a.m. Perhaps he was frightened and acting in confused self defense.
I can't find any indication online that officers were suspended, that there was an investigation, etc. I don't know the real story, I only heard the shots. But all these weeks later I am still thinking about it and I am concerned that a possible abuse of power and/or judgment is being swept under the table with no media attention being paid to it.