Holy Corrective Management Measures, Bratton!
Remarkably, Tuesday, LA Chief of Police William Bratton put two senior officers in new, less sensitive and not so demanding positions. This was in response to the possibly lax control they exerted over the officers involved in the MacArthur Park brawl on May Day. This exactly a week after the apparently gross over-reaction to rocks and bottles being thrown at LAPD officers on May first at an otherwise peaceful protest in MacArthur Park in downtown Los Angeles.
I am absolutely floored by this seemingly obvious step. This hasn't been the way that LAPD has handled similar problems in the past. Not at all. This is the inverse of past behaviour, and deserves praise. The officers were in the chain of command at the park that day, and were, in theory, in charge. If you have seen any of the tape on that incident, you can see that it appeared that there was clearly nobody in charge that day.
Of course, if you have a more sinister bent to your imagination, perhaps you believe that what happened was not a lack of control, but a misuse of power. Perhaps this investigation will answer that more ominous question. You hate to think this could have been someones personal agenda of hate, but that question will need to be asked in some way or perhaps a few different ways.
Should that be found to be an element in the case, I hope that a way to prevent similar incidents in the future can be implemented. Hopefully one that can avoid neutering the LAPD's ability to respond to crises.
I haven't heard that anyone has been fired yet, but expect some will be, once the investigation is complete. It's going to be interesting to see how this story develops, now that it appears as if it may not actually just be business as usual, and swept under the rug.
The cynic in me requires that I mention that Chief Bratton is up for a contract renewal, so *that* part of me wonders if this is a ploy related to that. The cheerleader part of my soul wants to believe that it's being done because it's the right thing to do. Senior officers that let the rank and file go wild like that ought to be put in a different capacity, but shouldn't just be immediately fired. Rank and file who don't have the sense to curb their violent tendencies ought to be put on leave, at the very least, as about 60 have been at this point.
This is going to be an interesting thing to watch.
Click here to read the LA Times May 9th coverage of this.
I am absolutely floored by this seemingly obvious step. This hasn't been the way that LAPD has handled similar problems in the past. Not at all. This is the inverse of past behaviour, and deserves praise. The officers were in the chain of command at the park that day, and were, in theory, in charge. If you have seen any of the tape on that incident, you can see that it appeared that there was clearly nobody in charge that day.
Of course, if you have a more sinister bent to your imagination, perhaps you believe that what happened was not a lack of control, but a misuse of power. Perhaps this investigation will answer that more ominous question. You hate to think this could have been someones personal agenda of hate, but that question will need to be asked in some way or perhaps a few different ways.
Should that be found to be an element in the case, I hope that a way to prevent similar incidents in the future can be implemented. Hopefully one that can avoid neutering the LAPD's ability to respond to crises.
I haven't heard that anyone has been fired yet, but expect some will be, once the investigation is complete. It's going to be interesting to see how this story develops, now that it appears as if it may not actually just be business as usual, and swept under the rug.
The cynic in me requires that I mention that Chief Bratton is up for a contract renewal, so *that* part of me wonders if this is a ploy related to that. The cheerleader part of my soul wants to believe that it's being done because it's the right thing to do. Senior officers that let the rank and file go wild like that ought to be put in a different capacity, but shouldn't just be immediately fired. Rank and file who don't have the sense to curb their violent tendencies ought to be put on leave, at the very least, as about 60 have been at this point.
This is going to be an interesting thing to watch.
Click here to read the LA Times May 9th coverage of this.
Labels: abuse, backbone, balls, beating, contract renewal, crisis, LAPD, loss of control, management, politics, riots, sleight-of-hand, stupidity, venality
posted by Fuzzy2k at 5/08/2007 11:23:00 PM
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