How to conduct investigations of police shootings in a bright light, putting cams on the Border Patrol, a big restaurant chain nixes tipping
LA law enforcement officials weigh-in on transparency, body cams
KPCC recently published the results of a lengthy investigation into officer-involved shootings in Los Angeles County, to give the public a better sense of who cops are shooting at and how often.
The information, based on hundreds of reports from the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office, is now available online.
The data shows that between 2010 and 2014, L.A. County law enforcement shot 375 people, a quarter of whom were unarmed.
Though blacks account for just 8 percent of the county's population, the investigation revealed that they made up 24 percent of fatal shootings.
The data is not readily available to the public. KPCC reporters read and evaluated hundreds of district attorney letters spanning five years, along with records from the medical examiner and elsewhere. You can see a detailed explanation of how the data was collected here.
Take Two talked to three individuals charged with overseeing Los Angeles County law enforcement and asked them why it's so difficult for the public to see this information. We've transcribed some of their discussion below. Hear the full segment by clicking the play button above.
Merrick Bobb, founder of the Police Assessment Resource Center, oversaw the L.A. Sheriff's Department for more than 20 years. He said KPCC’s findings raise a number of questions about context.
“There is a need to dig and mine the data to figure out exactly what’s happening and why. Who is doing the shooting? Are there repeat shooters? What kinds of crimes are involved? And what can we say about policing a heavily urban environment, versus a lot of Los Angeles County which is a lot more suburb?” he asked.
Transparency
When asked about the lack of transparency, Alex Bustamante, Inspector General of the Los Angeles Police Department, told Alex Cohen that the answer is complicated.
“I wouldn’t use the word ‘transparent’ unless you qualified it,” Bustamante said. “Some of the information, whether it’s in a use of force, let’s say an officer involved shooting when you have community members who want additional information, some of that information cannot be disclosed in the way, or the manner, or even the timing that they want because of some of the rules that are established by the State of California,” he added.
For example, incident files are sealed during an ongoing investigation.
“You’re going to have personnel related matters, you’re going to have an ongoing investigation where people are still looking at scientific evidence, still interviewing witnesses, still trying to find out if there're other witnesses … so that’s what’s going to be the impediment for the disclosure,” Bustamante said.
Families seeking more information about the shooting death of a loved one often have to go to court just to have a chance to view sealed files. When it comes to opening police records, the decision is made on a case-by-case basis, Bustamante and Bobb said.
Bobb told Take Two that police unions in California lobbied Sacramento “very hard” to restrict access to information. It’s unlikely that the public will be given greater access to department files anytime soon. Because of this, information seekers will have to continue to depend on the District Attorney's Office to investigate every shooting.
Max Huntsman, Inspector General for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, acknowledges that the public has little faith in DA oversight, telling Take Two that people “accept and they know that the police are going to hunt gang members who are threatening them with guns, but they don’t accept that they’re going to hunt their own in the same way when it’s appropriate.”
But Huntsman says that there may be a way to make the process more transparent.
“When it comes to the ability to look into an agency and really make sure that they are doing a good job within themselves — in terms of investigations — that’s something where an inspector general or another form of civilian oversight can serve a very important role, even when that information doesn’t go out to the public."
Body cameras
In the wake of high profile officer-involved shootings in 2014, calls for greater transparency have led to a closer look at the use of body cameras. Los Angeles Police Department started its roll-out of body cameras in September of this year. The city plans to issue 7,000 devices to officers.
"I think it's a game changer," said Bustamante. "I think it will be instrumental in identifying training and what needs to be done by departments to improve on their policing models."
Bobb agreed, but said agencies should exercise caution in some situations.
"Is there anything you should not put on camera? Like a young child who's been sexually abused? Recording a spouse in a bad domestic violence case? Interviewing rape victims? The privacy interests may outweigh the interests of having that on tape."
For Huntsman, body cameras and the evidence they provide are now a key part of the investigative process.
"Juries and the public expect to see video now," he said. "We must provide that video in order to be doing competent policing. It's really a part of our modern world, both for control of police and control of the public. You can prove in court things you couldn't prove before."
Joe's Crab Shack's new dining tip: don't leave a tip
Thinking about dinner, tonight?
Well, go to the restaurant chain Joe's Crab Shack and an Arctic Bay Steampot could run you about $26.
Then you have add in a little extra for the tip – let's say the service was alright. So 18 percent of $26 is...uh...what again?
But wait! What if at the end of the meal, you didn't have to do simple math? What if the server got a decent wage and didn't have to rely on tips?
Joe's Crab Shack will be the first nationwide restaurant to test out a no-tipping policy.
But it's not clear how that will go over with diners.
Steve Dublanica, author of "Keep the Change" and the blog Waiter Rant joins Take Two.
Claremont college student who led hunger strike to ouster dean talks race on campus
There has been a wave of student protests this fall over racial tensions on college campuses across the country.
This week, student outrage at the University of Missouri led to the resignations of the president and chancellor of the school.
Thursday, the Dean of Students at Claremont McKenna College, Mary Spellman, announced she would leave her post, writing in an email to the school, "I believe it is the best way to gain closure of a controversy that has divided the student body and disrupted the mission of this fine institution."
At Claremont, students were demanding more inclusion of those that have been "marginalized" at the school.
Taylor Lemmons is a junior at Claremont who led a hunger strike, calling for those changes and for Spellman's resignation. She shared her thoughts with Take Two.
Press the blue play button above to hear more.
What the ruling in favor of CA death penalty means for those on death row
Yesterday, a federal appeals panel overturned a previous ruling that California's capital punishment system is unconstitutional.
The case in question dates back to a death sentence doled out twenty years ago.
Ellen Kreitzberg, law professor at Santa Clara University, joined Take Two to discuss the ruling and what it means for the future of executions in California.
To hear the full interview, click the link above.
Before they can wed, two men have to annul their adoption
Long before the U.S. Supreme Court passed marriage equality, same sex couples had limited options to legally bind and protect their relationships. Some couples opted to go through an adoption process. That is what Nino Esposito and Drew Bosee did. In 2012, Nino legally adopted Drew so they could share legal protections and have some legal validity to their relationship.
But now that same sex marriage is legal, the couple wants the adoption annulled so that they can finally get married. Despite other same sex couples going through similar situations they are facing legal opposition in the annulment process.
Salo-salo: The traveling chef who cooks for strangers to help the Philippines
Yana Gilbuena always wanted to cook the food of her homeland, the Philippines, for as many people as possible. She just hadn't quite figured out how.
But then, Typhoon Haiyan hit in 2013, and Gilbuena sprang into action.
She sold just about all of her stuff, packed up the basics, and embarked on a journey through the U.S. Her goal: Raise money for typhoon relief by gathering strangers for pop-up dinners with authentic Filipino food.
Her idea ultimately became The Salo Project. Gilbuena said salo is short for the Filipino word salo-salo, which means gathering or dinner party. But if it's said in a different inflection, it can also mean to catch. She incorporates both meanings into her dinners.
"I like to source the ingredients locally and seasonally, so it's the other nuance to the word 'catch' in salo," she said. "I also like to gather strangers for these dinners, because I like that they either are interested in Filipino food, or have had Filipino food, or are Filipino and want to reconnect with their roots, so it's nice to see them intersect at my dinner, otherwise they would not have even met."
Finding local ingredients for Filipino dinners in different states can sometimes force Gilbuena to get creative.
"It was Bismarck, North Dakota, that I felt like I had a really, really hard time finding things," she said. "They had a supermarket, which was great. They had soy sauce, they had distilled white vinegar, but the rest of the products were just not there. So, I kind of had to make-do with what I had to make a Filipino dinner with what they had."
She said the cuisine is well-received, no matter how unfamiliar it may be to some people.
"I was in a hunting lodge in Alabama, it was called the Sawtooth Plantation, and it just so happened the guy had venison, and elk and wild boar, so I got to use these meats and put them in a very Filipino manner," Gilbuena said. "But they loved how I cooked it."
She says it's been a meaningful journey to be able to give back to the land she loves. In developing The Salo Project, she partnered with Advancement for Rural Kids, or ARK, a group that teaches children to grow their own produce. ARK helped Gilbuena set a realistic fundraising goal. She was able to visit the Philippines in May to meet the kids she's been helping.
"It's a slow rebuilding process. A lot of the times, they had an influx of all this money, and relief, but it's always six months after that they need more help to just kind of get back on their feet," she said.
Gilbuena recognizes that all of this, in great part, has been achieved through the kindness of others.
"It really warms my heart how many people out there are so kind, and so giving, and just really want to help out and don't want anything in return," she said. "I don't even know how to repay the people that I've met along the way who've opened up their homes to me, drove me around, showed me their city, introduced me to their friends, and made my dinner happen. I have no idea, but I am very grateful that they've been so generous and kind to me."
Next stop: South America.
To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.