Readers support police actions

In response to Lyndsey Shinoda's article entitled "Piggish behavior at the DNC," printed in the August 30, 2000 edition of the 49er, Ms. Shinoda obviously had complete freedom to express her opinions of the actions of the police at that convention. This included a certain amount of bias in the writing.

As the layman readers of such an article, however, we must not forget that she didn't have the burden of including the LAPD's side of the story.

When "police brutality" headlines appear, the public rarely hears the entire story. People not connected with law enforcement hear everything about the so-called "victims" -- sometimes more than they need to know -- but little, of the cops' version of the events and their reasons, if any, for their actions.

To Ms. Shinoda's credit, there are some cops who really shouldn't be wearing a badge. And of course, the potential for corruption within any organization increases with the size of the organization.

But to the cops' credit, for every corrupt officer, there are dozens of good ones. Furthermore, many things they do which can be perceived as harassment are the result of orders.

A cop's job is to enforce laws and follow procedures, even those he or she does not agree with. As a nation, we tend to overlook the fact that police officers literally put their very lives on the line for all of us every time they go to work.

Can't we at least do them the courtesy of looking beyond the immediate to find the facts, instead of blindly accepting every "police brutality" story at face value?

To get an accurate picture of these men and women who risk so much for us, we must start asking, "why?" Why were they "...in their riot gear...?"  (That's for their protection.) Why did "rubber bullets [fly] through the air...?"  (Was it truly an abuse of power, or could any of the crowd's actions been perceived as a threat by the police?)

And let's not forget that LAPD was criticized for not exercising enough crowd control at the Staples Center earlier this year. Just what do we want them to do?

Ben Franklin tells us, "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." W.K. Clifford adds that, "It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence."

– Jennifer Davis, undeclared major
 

This letter is in response to Jason Kosareff's Aug. 31 article "Prisons and police are driven by money." It is interesting to see people delight in the lawsuits brought against police departments when a corruption scandal is discovered.

As a Los Angeles Police Department police officer, I do not take this lightly. Especially since it seems like I am being attacked personally for other people's faults. But putting personal feelings aside, one needs to see what needs to be done to control corruption and make sure it does not occur again.

I agree with Kosareff that police departments and prisons are run as businesses. If run well, then the officers' accountability and service to the community would not be compromised.

For example, LAPD's Chief Bernard Parks is dealing with the Rampart corruption scandal. He created a task force that went to every department division to stop make sure that there are no signs of an extension of what occurred in Rampart Division.

Kosareff went off course with his article. He began with how the LAPD "can be sued under a federal racketeering law." Good point. But he never explained or proved why it is good. He only talked about how the LAPD "delivers prisoners like human cattle to the prisons" and how "the likes of the LAPD are free to roam the streets."

Kosareff needed to explain how this lawsuit is going to be paid -- with taxpayers money. But don't get me wrong, if there is widespread corruption let's uncover it and have those who committed the crimes pay for their misuse of power.

Every time I "roam" the Los Angeles streets looking for the person who may have stolen his car or risking my life running after that person with a gun, I do it because it is my job. I was sworn to help the citizens who entrusted me to protect them.

Mr. Kosareff, you need to remember that it is the Los Angeles citizens who want the police to put criminals in jail (legally). So, Mr. Kosareff, why don't you tell the citizens of Los Angeles how much money it is going to cost them to have the trial.

Parks is doing the best he can to terminate those officers who abused their powers and control future corruption. The U.S. Constitution reserved police powers to the states. The federal government has no police powers. Although I may be biased, I believe that if anything should be done, the state of California should apply the penalties or cause the LAPD to correct itself.

Having the above in mind, Kosareff should see how allowing this lawsuit will cause the citizens of Los Angeles to pay more money with a scarcity of "money and resources that could go to programs that would really alleviate the social conditions that breed crime."

A police department, specifically the LAPD, is there for you.

– Adrian Koval criminal justice senior