Former LAPD chief Bill Bratton joins the show to talk about the hunt for fugitive Christopher Dorner. Then, we look at LA cop culture, Rob Lowe joins the show to talk about his latest film, 'Knife Fight," Vanessa Romo reports on how school principals who fail to report abuse are rarely prosecuted, Sanden Totten reports on this year's technical Oscars, Rob Lowe on his latest political acting stint in 'Knife Fight,' and much more.
LAPD Manhunt: Former LAPD Chief Bill Bratton on Christopher Dorner
Authorities in Big Bear continue their search for Christopher Dorner, the ex-LAPD officer on the run after a series of alleged revenge killings. Yesterday, authorities found his burned out truck near the resort follwed by footprints in the snow. Police spent all night searching in the San Bernadino Mountains, but have not been successful in finding Dorner.
The former Navy reservist was fired from the police force in 2008 for allegedly making false statements about his training officer. In a document posted on his Facebook page, Dorner threatened "unconventional and asymmetrical warfare" against police.
There's a widely circulated photo of Dorner with former LAPD chief William Bratton, and CNN reports that a package containing threatening notes and a bullet-ridden coin mentions Bratton by name. Bratton joins us to talk about what he remembers about Dorner and whether he thinks the LAPD's screening and psychological processes need an update.
Interview Highlights:
On whether he remembers Christopher Dorner:
"I have no recollection of his time with the LAPD, either the photos with me up in my office, which were probably taken when he was being called into active duty and heading off to Iraq. Quite frankly, I reviewed the files on the personnel action that led to his firing and I have no recollection of him even from that series of reports. In the LAPD in the course of a year a chief of police reviews hundreds of those types of cases, and his particular set of circumstances, it just just doesn't register with me in the sense of recalling the circumstances of that discharge in 2008, almost 5 years ago."
On the threatening package sent to Anderson Cooper at CNN:
"I was contacted last evening by CNN security to apprise me that they have received this package some number of days ago and that yesterday they were forwarding copies of the package. I think CNN indicated that they returned the package to him. They made photocopies, which they were now making available to the FBI. When they described what was in the package, it was chilling, the idea of that Challenge Coin and the significance of three bullet holes through it, raised it to another level in terms of of the threat and what's going through this individual's mind."
On the LAPD's screening process:
"The LAPD, I can say without fear of contradiction, has the most strenuous screening requirements of any police department in America. It was the source oftentimes of irritation because they were so comprehensive we lost many candidates to other departments who could expedite their clearances faster than we could or would. [Dorner] is a ranking officer in the Navy and has very high level security clearances in that assignment. So in that psychological screening, which is extensive, lie detector tests, we're one of the few departments in America, California, that can use lie detector tests. Quite obviously he met the very high and stringent requirements of the Los Angeles Police Department. Out of every 12 applicants, sometimes as high as 15 applicants only one person actually gets through that process."
On the LAPD's psychiatric facilities:
"We have a very large psychiatric staff in the LAPD, I think its 20-some off personnel in that unit. That unit is involved in the hiring process, any time an officer is involved in a significant use of force, particularly deadly force, before the officer can return to duty he has to basically be with that psychological team battery of examinations that they go through. Again in a large department, we have many more capabilities than most police organizations in the United States to proactively or reactively."
On whether the LAPD follows up with discharged officers:
"After the individual is discharged, that ends it from the department's perspective. In the case of this individual he then subsequently filed an appeal to the courts, which took several years to go through the courts, I think it was in 2010 that his appeal was rejected, so that's almost three years ago. The department would have no contact with him if he's discharged, he doesn't have pension applicability. He was only with the organization for about 5 years including the time that he was on administrative hold while these charges were being processed."
On whether he thinks the LAPD should do more stringent mental evaluations:
"No actually I don't. This individual is quite clearly an exception. There are 800,000 officers in America. The vast vast majority of them perform their duties in the face of incredible stress without succumbing to the murderous rampage that this individual has now embarked on. There are services available for officers oftentimes through their insurance companies, anonymous services that are available to them. My old boss in the police department back in the 1970s were one of the first to create a stress unit specifically to assist officers with these issues. I can speak more recently for the LAPD, the department and its union provide a lot of opportunities and options. And if any officer is showing any sign of mental instability we have the ability to proactively move on that officer."
An inside look at LAPD cop culture
As authorities continue the hunt for Christopher Dorner, many wonder what might have led the former LAPD officer to possibly commit such crimes. Some who knew him as a friend say he didn't seem violent at all, but others who knew him as a cop say he was a bad apple.
Joe Domanick, author of the book "To Protect and to Serve: The LAPD's Century of War in the City of Dreams," joins the show to tell us more about the culture of the L.A. Police Department at the time Dorner was a cop.
Friday Flashback: Drones, arming Syria, same-sex marriage
We'll talk about the week that was in this regular political reporter roundtable. On tap this week, Chrystia Freeland, editor of Thompson Reuters Digital and James Rainey from the Los Angeles Times.
Rob Lowe continues his political acting career in 'Knife Fight'
Actor Rob Lowe seems to have politics in his blood. He grew up near the nation's capitol, raised money for George McGovern's campaign when he was just a kid, and famously campaigned for Michael Dukakis in his twenties.
So perhaps it comes as no surprise that he's comfortable playing roles with a political bent. Of course he's well-known as White House Communications Director Sam Seaborn in "The West Wing," and you can currently see him Thursday nights on NBC as the acting city manager of the fictional town of Pawnee in "Parks and Recreation."
His latest big-screen role is as star political strategist Paul Turner in the new film, “Knife Fight.” Directed by Bill Guttentag, the films is written by Chris Lehane, political director of the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign and a well-known political "fixer" known colloquially as the "Master of the Political Dark Arts."
Rob Lowe joins the show from the studios of NPR West in Culver City, California.
Interview Highlights:
On whether he would ever run for office:
"It would be fun to find a way to serve my country, because it's given all of us so much, our country has. I'm sort of unabashed about that, that's why I've always related to the West Wing because it was so earnest, it wasn't trying to be hip or ironic about love of country. But I'm a disappearing breed, I'm a centrist, there are no centrists left, they're all drummed out. Every time you pick up the paper today you see some statesman who was a dealmaker and a consensus builder retiring from the seats they've held forever. So I don't know if there would ever really be a place for someone like me that looks to where our common interests are first, before where our disagreements are to try and get things done."
On why someone would want to be a political fixer:
"In my life I have been fortunate enough to be up close and personal with people on every end of the political spectrum. I've met everyone from Clarence Thomas to Karl Rove… and what I've learned is no matter what your political affiliations, truly, these people are in it because they are patriots and the underlying message of "Knife Fight," is that the ends justify the means. I'm not sure if I agree with it. Paul Turner, my character, is a patriot, but he will do some stuff that would raise a few eyebrows in service of his country.
On working with Chris Lehane:
"Chris's energy was something that I was struck by. I drink a lot of espresso, he makes me look under-caffeinated. In playing somebody like that was going to be really fun for me to do. Chris had so many great war stories that he was able to share with me about 11th hour shenanigans. A lot of which made their way into the script, which is why I loved it when I read it."
On the 1988 sex tape incident at the Democratic National Convention:
"I always consider myself a trailblazer, and perhaps I should have waited a decade when people made money off their sex tapes. The Democratic convention, to the extent I could remember it, those were the days when I was drinking. I'm 22 years sober now, but who's counting. It was fun, I was a young kid and those were the days when you would see the most senior-serving member of the senate crawling on his hands and knees through the bar drunk. We can't do that anymore, we have Twitter, and we have cell phone camera and we have a 24-hour news cycle. But there was a time when you partied as hard as you served. That was a very, very, very different time."
On how "literally" became his TV catchphrase on "Parks and Recreation":
"First of all let me say just how excited I am just to have a catchphrase. I've been in this business 30 years and I've never had a "Whatchu talking 'bout Willis?" Or any of the great phrases of television have eluded me prior to Chris Trager. Like all of the great catchphrases, they happen organically, it wasn't written to be a catchphrase, it was just a word in a sentence, and I said it in a way that made people laugh…literally, now in the episode we're doing, I literally say that line, literally in every scene."
On what attracted him to "Knife Fight":
The script was really funny, it was co-written by Chris Lehane who is one of the leading political fixers, so it felt really authentic to me and felt like what really does go on behind the curtain where the professionals come in and run these campaigns and do whatever needs to be done to win."
Snowy weather complicates efforts to track down Dorner
Ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner has been on the run for more than 24-hours, and while officials suspect he's up in the Big Bear area, and a snow storm there is complicating the search.
The San Bernardino County sheriff held a press conference this morning saying that the search for Dorner continues. Yesterday afternoon his burned out pickup truck was identified by police near the Big Bear resort area. Nearby, they found tracks in the snow.
Police spent all night searching the mountains but have not yet been successful. So with the clock ticking and weather not on your side, how can authorities find him?
Guests:
Judi Bowers, the editor of Big Bear Valley's newspaper The Big Bear Grizzly.
Tom Allman, Sheriff of Mendocino County, who he led a hunt through the redwoods for a man accused of a double murder. After 36 days of searching, authorities eventually found and killed that man, Aaron Bassler.
School principals who fail to report abuse are rarely prosecuted
Principal Irene Hinojosa and teacher Robert Pimentel worked together for years. By all accounts, she thought highly of Pimentel as a teacher, and over the years, received several positive reviews.
So when parents complained that he’d been touching girls, district officials said she disregarded the complaints.
Now, Hinojosa, finds herself is at the center of an investigation and possible prosecution by the L.A. City Attorney’s office. Prosecutor Donna Edmiston said she has been in contact with the LAPD and is “very interested” in the outcome of the investigation.
A failure to report is a misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum of six months in a county jail, a fine up to $1000, or both. But to convict someone for failure to report, prosecutors have to prove that a mandated reporter suspects a child has been abused or neglected yet, takes no action to tell police. And that’s a very hard thing to do.
Santa Clara prosecutor, Alison Filo, said prosecutions “are incredibly rare.” She said her county has only charged mandated reporters twice in 20 years. Last November, Filo was prosecuting a principal for not telling anyone after a second grader said her teacher blind folded her, apparently licked her feet, and made her taste a salty liquid.
After a weeklong trial, the jury said they were at an impasse, unable to reach a verdict. So the judge sent them home for the weekend.
“And they came back on Monday and they were able to work out their differences but even with what I thought was very compelling and concrete evidence, they really struggled to come to a verdict,” said Filo.
In the end, the principal was convicted by her own hand. She’d kept copious notes of the incident, which Filo said, “Were so descriptive and so obvious that it was inconceivable to me that this child was describing anything other than a sexual assault.”
Ultimately, said Filo, the jury decided that the principal should not have been talked out of her reasonable suspicion. However, by the time the principal was convicted, the teacher abused another child.
But Filo says it’s not as cut and dry as it sounds because principals are caught in a tough spot. Unlike nurses or therapists, school staff are often receiving allegations about co-workers, who they know and trust.
“It’s something about the fact that the alleged abuser or molester is someone with whom they work, that dissuades them from making the report,” said Filo. “And that’s where they run into trouble.”
At L.A. Unified, officials couldn’t recall the last time a school administrator was prosecuted for the crime.
Vivian Ekchian is the head of human resources for the district and she said they hammer home an employee’s responsibilities in an online annual training. The take away lesson: If it’s reported to you, you need to report, even when it’s unclear if something untoward has occurred.
Violations result in consequences from the district.
In the case of Irene Hinojosa, Ekchian said LAUSD pulled her out of the school and started the firing process as soon as they learned about the failure to report. The teacher, Robert Pimentel is in jail facing 15 counts of sexual abuse, involving 12 victims.
Ekchian said the district has no tolerance for not reporting child abuse but stopped short saying LAUSD would move to dismiss any principal who fails to report. “I think every case needs to be examined and investigated carefully,” said Ekchian.
Even in the very few cases where criminal charges are filed and a person is convicted, the punishment is slight.
In Orange County, a student told her math teacher she was being abused by a family member. The teacher told her to lock her bedroom door, but waited until the following morning to report the abuse. Last month she was convicted of failing to report and sentenced to one-year probation and 20 hours of community service.
Deanne Tilton Durfee said that kind of punishment just isn’t enough. She runs an L.A. County child abuse prevention agency. “The penalty for failure to report should be equal to the perpetration of the abuse,” she said. “You are sentencing that child to a lifetime of potential mental health problems and ultimately a total breakdown of their self confidence and sometimes suicide.”
Law enforcement wants another change: to extend the statute of limitation. It’s now, one year.
That’s a change Donna Edmiston would like to see happen soon. “We need need to change the statute of limitation so that when it does come to light, two or three years later, we’re actually able to do something and to file a case.
Edmiston said authorities usually find out when a second child is victimized but by then it’s too late to prosecute the earlier failure to report. In Hinojosa’s case, the last time anyone can tell parents complained was in 2008. So unless law enforcement finds evidence of a more recent report, it’ll be impossible to prosecute her.
The LAPD says they’re still investigating.
Related stories:
Principal at center of LAUSD's latest sex abuse scandal may lose credential
Former LAUSD teacher Pimentel accused of another lewd act
The Dinner Party: A lost A-Bomb, Facebook envy and more
Every week we get your weekend conversation starters with Rico Gagliano and Brendan Newnam, the hosts of the Dinner Party podcast and radio show.
This week, the guys fill us in about the Tybee Island Bomb, the issue of Facebook envy, and Amazon's most-romantic city in America.
Oscar's Nerdy Cousin: Honoring the scientific and technical geniuses who make movie magic
The Oscars are a few weeks away. But the show’s smarter, geekier cousin – the Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation happens tomorrow. It’s a chance to honor the brightest technicians, inventors and computer programmers in the entertainment business. KPCC’s Sanden Totten takes a look at some of the winners.
Nobody blows things up like Hollywood. Those jaw-dropping pyrotechnics are often done digitally. But for a long time, there was a problem with the main software used to create the images.
“It was really good at cigarette smoke simulation or like a campfire simulation, but we wanted to do something a little bit bigger," said Theodore Kim, assistant professor of media arts and technology at UC Santa Barbara. A few years back – he teamed up with three other researchers to design a bigger digital boom.
“The simulation that everyone always thinks about is a Mount Saint Helen’s explosion or something like that. Like a volcanic explosion. Or maybe even like a forest fire," said Kim. "You know, lots of really rich detail coming out in the smoke and the fire. So we wanted to do something like that.”
Eventually – his team created the Wavelet Turbulence Algorithm. They released it to the world and since then it’s been used to simulate explosions in more than 20 films. Kim’s favorite example is in 2011’s Super 8. There’s a scene where a group of kids witness a colossal train wreck.
“Almost every single explosion in that sequence used our algorithm. It’s so spectacular and it really moves the story along in that movie as well. So I thought it was used to very great dramatic effect there," said Kim
The members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences were also impressed. This year they’re giving Theodore Kim and his partners, Nils Thuerey, Markus Gross and Doug James, an award for their software. It’s one of 9 achievements being honored at the 85th annual Scientific and Technical Awards Presentation this weekend.
Other winners include programmers from Sony Pictures Imageworks. They created software that lets users manipulate the lighting of digital environments. There’s a team that invented a better way to simulate skin on computer-generated creatures. And a group that developed something called the Pose Space Deformation technique.
Yeah – a lot of it is pretty abstract stuff. But some of the winning entries are much more tangible.
Take for instance Key Grip Richard Mall's creation – the Matthews Max Menace Arm. Picture a portable crane about as tall as a basketball player. It’s used to position light in tight spaces. As Mall demonstrates – it has a really long reach.
“This is Matthews Max Menace Arm. It’s a device I developed for film sets," said Mall. “It’ll extend out in increments of one inch from 6 feet to 16 feet. It’s strong and safe and fast so you can very quickly position a light anywhere on a set.”
The menace arm — which is the industry term for a device that holds lights — debuted in 2005. Since then it’s worked up a resume that would make any actor jealous.
“Avatar, Inception, Black Swan, The Artist, There Will Be Blood, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Dark Knight, Iron Man 1, 2 and 3. I could go on. Anyway it’s about 300 movies,” remarked Mall.
It goes to show how quickly new technology can become indispensable in the entertainment business.
“The technical community is just as creative as the artists in their way in coming up with these device," said Richard Edlund, chair of the Scientific and Technical Awards committee. He’s also the visual effects supervisor behind movies like Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Ghostbusters.
He admits that the contributions of the scientific community don’t get the same press actors and directors do, but he says these technical types are rock stars in certain circles.
“There are lots of geek magazines and there are lots of geeks in the world that are really interested in that. And I love my nerds – always do, you know, because like I say they are very creative people," said Edlund.
He points out that the Scientific and Technical Awards show is much more laid back than the televised Oscars. Key Grip Richard Mall is looking forward to that party, but he says it’s not the award that he’s most proud of.
“It’s nice to be recognized for giving something back to the industry – creating something that will live a lot longer than I am on a film set," said Mall.
That’s the kind of response you’d expect from somebody used to life out of the spotlight.
'Journey' scores video game world's first Grammy nomination
The Grammys have been around for more than 50 years, and through that time we've seen pretty much everything. From Nikki Minaj staging a fake exorcism during the show to Elton John performing with Lady Gaga.
But there is one new, completely unique thing happening at this Sunday's awards. For the first time, a video game score has been nominated for a Grammy.
Emily Reese from the video game music podcast, Top Score, joins the show.