L.A. police Commissioner on police use of force and more, does saying sorry mean a lack of confidence, a look into diversity concerns for this year's award season
Head of LA's police commission on reform: 'You have to change hearts and minds'
From Chicago to South Carolina, New York to Cleveland, police shootings and questions of how and when officers use force are drawing increased scrutiny.
Here in L.A., it's a topic that we've been taking a close look at, as well. KPCC's investigation, Officer Involved, found that over a five-year period, from 2010 to 2014, at least 375 people were shot by on-duty officers from multiple agencies in Los Angeles County. To date, no officer has been prosecuted for the shootings.
L.A.'s police commission is one group that reviews and adjudicates such incidents. The commission is a civilian-led body that oversees the LAPD. It has five members who are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council.
The Commission's new president Matthew Johnson, the board's only African American member, says he has two top goals for his new term: reducing crime and bringing down the number of police shootings. Take Two's A Martínez sat down with Johnson to talk about police reform, body cameras and the influence of racial bias.
And he started his conversation talking about his two top goals: reducing crime and bringing down the number of police shootings. Click the arrow above to hear the interview.
Highlights from the interview:
Through November 7, 2015, homicides in L.A. were up nearly 12 percent (11.7%) violent crimes were up over 20 percent (21%), compared to 2014. Has the department explained to you what the root of that increase is?
Frankly, no one really knows the answer. But let's put it in perspective: we are still at historic lows, even though we saw those rises in 2015 over 2014, we're still at historic lows. Should we be panicking? No. But should we be concerned? Absolutely. If you look at the crime figures from the first half of the year, we were seeing numbers that were way more significant in terms of increases than where we ended up. So a lot of the tactics that the [police] department has deployed to combat this rise in crime are showing that they're working.
Over the past five years, police in Los Angeles County have fatally shot black people at triple the rate of other races, such as white and Hispanic people. That’s according to our data at KPCC and the coroner’s reports on fatal police shootings. When you hear that number, what do you think?
It brings me back to why I agreed to take on this position in the first place. It's a huge problem, it keeps me up at night and it's why I'm sitting in this chair. The problem is exacerbated with the African American community, for sure, but we need to lower the number of officer-involved shootings across the board. One of the areas of training that we're spending a lot of focus on is anti-bias training because a lot of these issues are subconscious. We need to figure out ways to train our officers to recognize that bias. When they see an African American person doing something, they see a white person doing something, when they see an Hispanic, often times the same act is perceived differently – and that's a subconscious thing that's not necessarily a conscious thing – the goal of that training is to eliminate or at least help recognize where that bias could come into these situations.
In our reporting at Southern California Public Radio, we've also profiled officers who have taken great risk or faced dangerous conditions in order to perform their duty. How would you say police officers are doing in LA?
I've spent a lot of time with police officers since taking this position...and the consistent thing that I get is that they're doing this for the right reason. They're doing this for the same reason I'm on the police commission. They have a desire to help improve our society, to help make a difference. So it's very painful for them to be in this environment right now, where there's such distrust. And they want to change it.
In a year from now, or two years from now, what would you use as a gauge to say that things are turning out the way you want them to, that [these reforms] have been a success?
I've set very concrete goals. Do I think we'll be able to accomplish what I'm trying to accomplish in a year? I would like to say yes, but I think that's probably a little unrealistic. Within two years if we don't see a significant drop in use of force incidents, I will have considered my tenure a failure...You can't do it overnight, it's not just [sitting] someone in a classroom for three hours and they walk out and they're a changed person. We're talking about a significant amount of training that 10,000 officers have to go through.
Should gun violence be studied as a matter of public health?
Last night, President Obama held a town hall in Virginia to discuss the incredibly controversial topic of gun control.
The event brought those passionate about further restricting the purchase and use of weapons in this country face to face with those just as adamant about protecting their second amendment rights.
Of course, any worthwhile debate should be grounded in solid facts. But when it comes to what we know about guns in the US - the research is limited, at best.
That's in large part because the federal government is strictly prohibited from funding work that looks into the root causes and effects of gun violence.
For more on that, Take Two's Alex Cohen spoke to Dr. Alice Chen, Executive Director of Doctors for America.
The group recently went to Capitol Hill to deliver a 2,000 signature petition asking for the government to end the CDC restrictions on studying gun violence and recognize the dangerous attacks as a public health issue
Clinton campaign to engage Asian-American voters
According to the census bureau, the number of Asian Americans registered to vote has doubled since the year 2000, making them a powerful force in modern politics.
Voters of Asian descent are credited with helping President Obama win the White House in the last two elections. Now, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton hopes these voters will help push her to victory as well.
She's launched an outreach program called AAPI, or "Asian-American Pacific Islanders for Hillary." The initiative was formally unveiled in Southern California's San Gabriel Valley yesterday.
Karthick Ramakrishnan is the associate dean of public policy at the University of California Riverside and founder of AAPI Data, an organization that gathers information on the Asian electorate.
A 2014 report from the organization states, “Given that the Asian-American electorate is still making up its mind on political parties, it is surprising to still find low rates of electoral contact.”
LA Times political analyst Cathleen Decker was at the AAPI for Hillary launch.
Press the blue play button above to hear what was said.
What role could the Asian electorate play in the primary elections and beyond?
Take Two put that question to Karthick Ramakrishnan.
Click the blue “Bonus Audio” link below the play button to hear the interview.
Creator of 'Just Not Sorry' app says it's not about policing how women speak
Among the scores of apps that appear each week, there's now a new one out there that's intended to help women write more confident emails.
"Just Not Sorry" is a Google Chrome plug-in for Gmail which warns users when they write words or phrases which might undermine their messages— words like "just" and "sorry."
While some see it as a wonderful way to help women develop stronger voices, others say "Sorry, but can't you please just give it a rest?!"
Joining Take Two to discuss:
- Tami Reiss, CEO of Cyrus Innovation and creator of the "Just Not Sorry" app
- Deborah Tannen, Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University and author of "Talking from 9 to 5: Women and Men at Work."
To hear the full interview, click the blue player above.
Rain barrels are overflowing, but how can you use the water?
It may be sunny and dry, today, but up to four inches of rain fell in parts of Southern California during the past week.
It's a boon to the lucky Angelenos who scored a free rain barrel from the city in the past year: they now have a ton of extra water saved up at their homes!
But, uh, now what?
KPCC listeners said in the past several years they started doing things to save water. Brent Smiley, for example, says he's now "collecting rainwater and ripping out our lawn."
Others have replaced their lawn with drought-tolerant gardens, which don't need that much water.
What can you do with all this extra water when it may be too much for the plants that still populate your home?
Take Two talks with Valley Glen resident Amy Bryman who's struggling to answer that question herself.
Just because El Niño storms came doesn't mean the drought is over
Despite the past week's storms, you might still be wondering how to save and conserve water. If you are, good for you!
But then again, some people out there might see rain and think, "We got some water. Drought over."
However, it will take 53 inches of rain in one year to break the drought. And the wettest year in Los Angeles' history had 38 inches.
So this week's downpour is a literal drop in the bucket.
Take Two talks with Lester Snow, executive director of the California Water Foundation, about how to make sure people still take the drought seriously despite the parade of storms we'll be getting this winter from El Niño.
Los Angeles takes on its homeless problem
LA City officials have released a report outlying a new strategy to get LA's homeless off the street - and into homes.
LA county also has their own plan which calls for creating more affordable housing, connecting homeless people with jobs and keeping people discharged from jails and hospitals off the street.
We talk about both plans with LA City Councilman Mike Bonin.
Avoiding another year of #oscarssowhite during awards season
It's awards season in Hollywood.
This weekend is the Golden Globe Awards.
Next week the Oscar nominations come out.
It's a time of crazy campaigns, limited carb intake... and some would argue, a LOT of white people.
At last year's Academy awards, white actors earned all 20 of the nominations in the lead and supporting categories.
So will this year be any different?
Franklin Leonard, founder of the Blacklist, spoke with Alex Cohen to find out more.