# These amateurs could get cops killed



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

These amateurs could get cops killed

Jack Dunphy, 

Jack Dunphy is the pseudonym of a Los Angeles police officer who writes a column for National Review Online.


THE FIVE members of the Los Angeles Police Commission bring a variety of experience to their role as overseers of the LAPD. Three commissioners are practicing attorneys, one is a banker, and the fifth is a retired civil rights activist. All are accomplished in their fields and have been recognized with awards from professional and community-based organizations. And, in keeping with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's commitment to diversity, they represent a cross section of the city's ethnicities and sexual orientations. Clearly, the mayor selected the panel with as much of an eye on politics as on policymaking. 

Sadly, what is not to be found on the panel is any depth of knowledge in police tactics. It may have been this lack of experience that led to the commission's finding that a September 2004 police shooting was "out of policy" and that the involved officer should face discipline. In handing down the decision, the commission overruled Chief William Bratton, who had concluded that the officer did not violate LAPD policy when he shot and wounded a burglary suspect during a traffic stop in Van Nuys. 

The LAPD's Special Investigation Section had Roger Mills under surveillance at the time and had linked him to an earlier robbery in which guns were taken, according to a Times story. Detective Jim Harris told LAPD investigators that when he and other SIS members surrounded Mills' car, Mills refused to keep his hands in the air and reached toward his waist. Harris fired at Mills with a shotgun, wounding him, but Mills was found to be unarmed. Mills recovered, and he was convicted of burglary and sentenced to four years in prison. 

It is rare for the police commission to overrule the chief's findings on officer-involved shootings (particularly SIS shootings, which, according to a Times study, the commission has overruled only two times since 1985, and it reversed itself in one of those), leading some police critics to claim that the panel has been little more than Bratton's (and his predecessors') civilian rubber stamp. 

Cops on the street are now left to wonder: Does the ruling on the Mills shooting represent a legitimate difference of opinion between Bratton and his civilian bosses, or was the commission's decision influenced by politics? 

"These commissioners are showing early they have the courage and conviction to stand up to Chief Bratton when necessary," said activist Najee Ali. "This is a quite stunning decision. For them to break ranks is a strong sign of their independence and a good sign for civilian oversight." 

Ali is most often identified in the media as the head of Project Islamic Hope, but he is also a former gang member and has been convicted of hit and run, perjury and armed robbery. Many cops find it difficult to share his enthusiasm for the commission's newfound independence. 

Even if one assumes the purest of motives for the commission's ruling, what expertise can its members claim to justify it? Among the five, only Alan Skobin has received any formal police training. Skobin, vice president and general counsel of Galpin Motors, has been a reserve deputy for the L.A. County Sheriff's Department for more than 20 years, giving him a perspective on the life-and-death decisions police officers are forced to make in a fraction of a second. But his fellow commissioners have lived their professional lives in the comfort and safety of paneled offices. And one of them, Commission President John Mack, was for many years one of the LAPD's most vocal critics while serving as head of the Los Angeles chapter of the Urban League. I remain skeptical of his claim of objectivity in his new post. 

Will police officers now pause to weigh the potential political consequences before taking action to save their own lives? Will an atmosphere of second-guessing cause them to hesitate? Let's hope not, because in police work, he who hesitates is not only lost, he is dead.


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## Pacman (Aug 29, 2005)

kwflatbed said:


> Will police officers now pause to weigh the potential political consequences before taking action to save their own lives? Will an atmosphere of second-guessing cause them to hesitate? Let's hope not, because in police work, he who hesitates is not only lost, he is dead.


Nope, Nope, I won't hesistate.


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## frapmpd24 (Sep 3, 2004)

> Will police officers now pause to weigh the potential political consequences before taking action to save their own lives? Will an atmosphere of second-guessing cause them to hesitate? Let's hope not, because in police work, he who hesitates is not only lost, he is dead.


This quote should flash across the bottom of the TV screen before and after every news story where the a career criminal or sh*tbag that has been shot by the police because of their own aggressive actions (ie: CHOICES). Especially the ones where the media finds some bumbling fool family member or neighbor claiming the the person was "such a good person", "never would have done that", "just found God after serving 10-20 for agregious felonies", "helps every year at the church fair", and all that non-sense.


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## MA218 (Sep 30, 2005)

frapmpd24 said:


> This quote should flash across the bottom of the TV screen before and after every news story where the a career criminal or sh*tbag that has been shot by the police because of their own aggressive actions (ie: CHOICES). Especially the ones where the media finds some bumbling fool family member or neighbor claiming the the person was "such a good person", "never would have done that", "just found God after serving 10-20 for agregious felonies", "helps every year at the church fair", and all that non-sense.


+1


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## Clouseau (Mar 9, 2004)

This is just plain sickening. Bratton says it's a good shoot and they over rule him?
Just who I want Monday morning quarterbacking me...three attorneys, a banker and a civil rights activist. Get back behind your cubicle and mind your *%#@ business. :BM:

_*Will police officers now pause to weigh the potential political consequences before taking action to save their own lives? Will an atmosphere of second-guessing cause them to hesitate?*_

No, they just won't do anything anymore. Don't call us when things go bump in the night.


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## Macop (May 2, 2002)

Not to mention the clown with the criminal history and the fool that has openly critisized the police in the past.


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## MVS (Jul 2, 2003)

Shame on the Mayor for establishing such a Commission. I understand the need for diversity in a city like L.A., but please... To me the a diverse commission would be a white cop, a black cop, a female (cop or civilian), 1 attorney, and a minority group leader. But then again, what do I know? :shock:


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## GD (May 2, 2002)

Good things come to wonderful people, especially A##hole activists,

*Activist's Alleged Beating Investigated*

[*]Najee Ali says Nation of Islam minister's bodyguards beat him after a loud argument.

By Richard Winton, Times Staff Writer

Los Angeles police are investigating allegations by community activist Najee Ali that he was beaten by bodyguards of Nation of Islam Minister Tony Muhammad after a news conference Monday.Ali said Tuesday that he and Muhammad got into a loud argument about why so few reporters had attended the news conference at which the two activists called for clemency for murderer Stanley "Tookie" Williams.

ADVERTISEMENT Ali told police that he called Muhammad "a liar" after which one guard "cold-cocked" him in the face. Other bodyguards then kicked him when he fell to the ground, Ali said.

Los Angeles Police Capt. James Craig said detectives took a police report from Ali and are investigating.

"One of the security people for Muhammad apparently didn't appreciate what Najee said and battered him," Craig said. "We are seeking to determine the identity of the security person or persons involved.

"There are no allegations Minister Muhammad struck anyone," he said.

Muhammad could not be reached for comment, and his attorney did not return calls.

Some activists expressed dismay that two well-known African American figures were involved in an assault case.

"These men are pivotal community leaders, and I think this is to the detriment of black activism and political empowerment," said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a political analyst and friend of both men.

"Is this a personal thing or does it reflect something deeper - a political rift?"

He said Muhammad and Ali are part of a younger, more media-savvy, rising group of leaders.

"There is a vacuum of political leadership in the black community," Hutchinson said, adding that several longtime community leaders have retired in recent years.

"I have noted definitely a jockeying for political leadership in the black community," he said.

Muhammad is the Western states head of the Nation of Islam. Ali is the leader of Project Islamic Hope, which has spoken out on police misconduct and other issues. Ali also is the son-in-law of W.D. Mohammad, a prominent Black Muslim and son of the founder of Nation of Islam.

Ali said the incident began after the noon news conference in Leimert Park when Muhammad shouted at him over how few reporters had showed up.

Ali responded that he didn't have "a magic wand" to beckon reporters, he said. According to the police report, an unidentified member of the minister's security staff told him that "he could not talk to the minister like that."

The bodyguard then "struck Najee's face, causing him to fall down to the ground," according to the report.

Ali told the investigating detective that after he had made comments critical of Muhammad that appeared in The Times last month, an unidentified Muhammad security staff member allegedly told him that "they were going to get him the next time they saw him," the report said.

Both Ali, 42, and Muhammad, 47, are controversial figures.

Supporters call them passionate voices for justice in the African American community who are not afraid to take on the Los Angeles Police Department and other powerful institutions.

Last year, then-Mayor James K. Hahn appointed Ali to a special committee that was monitoring a police beating probe of a Compton man, just hours after Chief William J. Bratton on CNN described him as "one of the biggest nitwits in Los Angeles," a remark for which the chief later apologized.

Ali, however, resigned from the committee after questions were raised about a hit-and-run case in which authorities accused him of crashing into another car and then running into a movie theater. In October 2004, Ali was convicted of hit-and-run and perjury and sentenced to six months in jail.

Muhammad is credited with improving relations between the Nation of Islam and other religious communities as well as with law enforcement since arriving in Los Angeles a decade ago.

Muhammad, however, recently appeared with his face swollen and bruised, alleging that it was due to an Aug. 25 beating by LAPD officers.

Police said Muhammad assaulted an officer during a vigil and was hurt while struggling with police.

Authorities are still investigating that incident.


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