Once again, a failure to follow precedent at the 9th Circuit

By LAPPL Board of Directors on 05/18/2012 @ 05:09 PM

“We’ve given police a simple, common-sense rule to deal with vehicles that are left unattended because the driver has been placed under arrest.”

If those words had been used by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of the U.S. vs. Cervantes, we’d say, “Amen!” Unfortunately, those were the words of dissenting Judge Sandra Ikuta in a three-judge panel ruling of the Court.

As we’ve written on many occasions, the 9th Circuit Court has a knack for arriving at result-oriented decisions that must later be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s easy to see why that reputation is deserved when you consider this particular case. This case should be yet another decision that the Supreme Court, and an en banc panel of the 9th Circuit, reverses.

Jesus Antonio Ramos Cervantes’ vehicle was stopped by LAPD officers for a traffic violation, and since he was an unlicensed driver, his car was later impounded by LAPD officers. The officers, following well established law on impounds and LAPD policies regarding impounds, found two kilograms of cocaine in the car. Federal District Court Judge John Walker denied the defendant’s motion to suppress the seized cocaine.

A federal appeals court in Pasadena found that LAPD officers who stopped Cervantes should not have impounded the car, but merely cited Cervantes and moved along. Courthouse News reporter Tim Hull recounts the details of the case in his recent story. The twists and turns the majority took to ignore established and straightforward law are admirably laid out in the dissent by Judge Ikuta. She rightfully argued that the majority had unnecessarily complicated a simple issue and had “silently overruled our long line of precedents establishing the community caretaking doctrine.”

“No complex legal analysis is required,” Judge Ikuta wrote. “The police merely have to determine whether it’s necessary to remove the vehicle from a public location in order to ‘prevent it from (1) creating a hazard to other drivers or (2) being a target for vandalism or theft.’ If the officers determine that either prong of this simple test is met, they may impound the vehicle in furtherance of their community caretaking function.”

A result-oriented decision by two liberal 9th Circuit judges should not be allowed to complicate what are established and straightforward rules. This is not rocket science. It is common sense. We look forward to another court reviewing this decision and upholding the right of the LAPD officers to legally impound and search vehicles under the community caretaking exception to the Fourth Amendment.

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AB 109 delivers an insult to justice

By LAPPL Board of Directors on 05/04/2012 @ 05:09 PM

AB 109, the state’s new prison realignment law, will go down as one of the worst pieces of legislation ever enacted in California. As the list of its failures continues to grow, the only possible explanation is that either the bill’s supporters actually believe serious crimes should go unpunished, or that they are seriously incapable of crafting laws that protect the public.

The headlines behind this misguided “reform” of the criminal justice system trumpeted its dual aims of reducing the prison population and helping save the state millions of dollars. It’s now estimated that $5.9 billion in responsibilities was shifted to local counties. Californians were assured that criminals sentenced to imprisonment would still be held accountable in local custody. But this legislation’s disastrous consequences continue to add up.

Realignment’s latest outrage comes from Merced, California, where a public safety officer was killed by a DUI driver. Because of AB 109, that driver will not spend a single day behind bars.

On June 9, 2011, Amie Chick was driving with a blood alcohol level over .07, marijuana in her system and possibly while talking on a cell phone. At that same moment, 29-year-old Los Banos firefighter Andrew Maloney was riding his 2011 Suzuki motorcycle southbound on Highway 165 in Merced County when Amie Chick turned left in front of Maloney, killing him in the resulting crash.

Chick later pleaded guilty to one count of felony vehicular manslaughter and was to begin serving her sentence of a year in jail on April 23. Under AB 109’s terms, however, she was immediately eligible for a house-arrest program because she was classified as a low-level prison inmate sentenced for a non-serious, non-violent crime. This allows her to serve her sentence at home while wearing an electronic monitoring device.

This is only one of the many tragic cases now unfolding that demonstrate how in their haste to remake punishment in California, the legislature in fact gutted punishment as a consequence of crime. Will AB 109’s proponents tell Andrew Maloney’s family their intention was that his death not be punished, or that the complete lack of punishment for his killing was simply an oversight—a case of legislative incompetence?

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The LAPD today

By LAPPL Board of Directors on 04/24/2012 @ 03:21 PM

The 20th anniversary of the 1992 Los Angeles riots has been welcomed by countless news stories and retrospectives on this important event in our city’s history. But many of these retrospectives have included analyses that overstate the riots’ role in the evolution of the Department.

Any balanced analysis must recognize that policing in general has evolved across the nation. Changes in the Department were part of a larger national trend of evolving approaches to policing. Community policing was a new approach adopted by agencies across the country as its value was becoming clear. George L. Kelling’s Broken Windows theory, for instance, showed how new approaches to fighting and preventing crime in troubled neighborhoods could provide better results than simply putting more ‘boots on the ground.’

It’s true that the makeup of today’s LAPD officers has also changed considerably and now includes significantly larger numbers of minority groups; officers of Hispanic descent, for example, now account for 42 percent of the police force. But this change is as much a result of the changing community demographics as it is of any single event in the city’s history.

The changing makeup of the force also means that fewer and fewer current officers took part in the operations that brought the city back under control during the riots. Many LAPD officers working today were not on the job two decades ago. Of the current approximately 9,940 officers on the force, only 2,641 were on the job in April 1992. Nearly 7,300 had not yet joined the Department.

There are varying opinions about what led to the events that prompted the 1992 riots. These were a major event in the city’s history, as were the 1965 riots. But in all fairness, they were not the single impetus for change that many analyses claim them to be. And while much has changed, it’s important to remember what hasn’t. The men and women of the LAPD, both sworn and civilian, remain committed to the safety of Los Angeles residents. Courage and integrity, which have been hallmarks of LAPD personnel, have never wavered.

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Thank you, Commissioner Skobin

By LAPPL Board of Directors on 04/20/2012 @ 11:51 AM

To say that Los Angeles Police Commissioner Alan J. Skobin will be missed is an understatement. As many of you may know, the longtime commissioner has been nominated by the mayor to serve as a fire commissioner. And since police commissioners are limited by the Los Angeles City Charter to two five-year terms, the police department’s loss will clearly be the fire department’s gain.

Mr. Skobin was first appointed to the Police Commission in 2003, and was elected Vice President of the Board of Police Commissioners immediately upon his appointment. The mayor appointed him to a second five-year term in 2008. His department liaison and committee assignments have included Use of Force, Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence, Training, Budget, Transportation and Traffic, the Police Reserve Program, and Valley Bureau and Operations. He currently serves as chair of the Oversight Committee for the Office of Public Safety, City of Los Angeles Department of General Services.

What makes Commissioner Skobin a truly invaluable public safety advocate is his firsthand knowledge of law enforcement and his willingness to share it with his fellow commissioners. He has served as a reserve deputy sheriff with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for more than 30 years and currently holds the rank of reserve chief. He’s experienced in patrol, detectives and administration. Before joining the sheriff’s department, he served as a reserve police officer with the San Fernando PD for nearly eight years, attaining the rank of sergeant.

Commissioner Skobin has either initiated or taken a leadership role in many important projects and programs, many of which have directly affected the lives of our members. He was the driving force behind the creation of the LAPD Purple Heart Award, which recognizes the sacrifice of officers who were either seriously injured or slain while serving the public. Commissioner Skobin successfully developed the program to replace outdated and unsafe radios with updated equipment; he implemented a new program to manage and prevent officer-involved traffic collisions; and many more programs, projects and activities for the betterment and safety of LAPD employees and the public they serve.

With a record of community and civic service that spans more than 40 years, Commissioner Skobin’s efforts have made a significant positive impact throughout many communities. His achievements have been recognized with commendations and awards from virtually every level of government, including city, county, state and federal officials.

On behalf of the League’s members, the Board of Directors offers its sincere gratitude to Mr. Skobin for his dedicated service and unwavering support of LAPD officers. We invite everyone, especially the rank and file, to come and thank Alan for his service when the Police Commission formally recognizes him for his nine years of service to the LAPD on Tuesday, April 24th at the Police Commission meeting and a reception beginning at 0830.

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Bureaucratic hoops let parolees hide behind privacy laws

By LAPPL Board of Directors on 03/16/2012 @ 01:13 PM

You’d think the same state legislators who backed the release of thousands of parolees from state prisons into local communities would at least ensure that local police could know the identity of these convicted criminals. But in its haste to enact prison realignment, the legislature made it too easy for parolees to slip into neighborhoods unencumbered by their criminal past.

Sacramento lawmakers failed to adjust state privacy laws, which currently restrict local police’s ability to get immediate information on the parolees coming into their community. As it stands, police chiefs must prepare and sign a statement declaring their need to know parolees’ names, addresses and criminal history in the interest of public safety. Only then can state parole officials provide the information.

State corrections officials should be able to provide police with a complete roster of former prisoners arriving in neighborhoods. Given felons’ high recidivism rates, it’s only logical for police to review parolee data when certain crimes occur in their area.

California Assemblymember Brian Nestande is among those who think police chiefs should be able to access this information without having to jump through bureaucratic hoops. “If there’s a way we can define that in law, that the police have the right to know without going through an unnecessary process, I’ll certainly look into working with others to make that correction,” Nestande told The Desert Sun. Assemblymembers from L.A. looking for a public safety issue to support would do well to make contact with Nestande.

The increased crime local communities are already seeing is one of the early failures of this poorly conceived law. At this point, all we can ask for is a chance to identify these convicted criminals so we know who is roaming among us in our communities. Here’s hoping the legislature is up to the task.

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Déjà vu for the 9th Circuit

By LAPPL Board of Directors on 03/15/2012 @ 11:14 AM

It’s shaping up to be another tough year for the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. After being reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 19 out of the 26 cases it reviewed in 2011, the trend appears to continue in 2012 to the benefit of police.

Last month, the Supreme Court threw out yet another 9th Circuit decision. This time the high court ruled that California officers could not be sued over using a possibly defective warrant to search a home. The case involved L.A. County Sheriff’s Detective Curt Messerschmidt and other police officials who were sued by Augusta Millender for the search on her house and confiscation of her shotgun.

According to reports, police were looking for her foster son, Jerry Ray Bowen, who had recently shot at ex-girlfriend Shelly Kelly with a sawed-off shotgun. Kelly told police Bowen might be at his foster mother’s house, so Messerschmidt obtained a warrant to look for any weapons and gang-related material on the property (Bowen was a suspected member of two local gangs). The detective’s supervisors, the district attorney and a judge all approved the warrant.

Neither Bowen nor his shotgun were found at Millender’s house, but police confiscated a shotgun belonging to the now deceased 73-year-old Millender. She sued, claiming the warrant was constitutionally overbroad because police had no right to look for any weapon at her house other than the one Bowen had used to shoot at his ex-girlfriend. Millender also argued that because the shooting was a domestic incident, police had no right to look for gang-material at her house. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court agreed, saying Messerschmidt and other officers should have known the warrant was overbroad and would therefore lose the immunity that police are normally granted against such lawsuits.

The Supreme Court overturned that decision on a 6-3 vote. This latest rebuke of the 9th Circuit came only one month after it was overruled in a case involving Burbank police officers responding to a reported rumor of a student threatening a school shooting.

Our judicial system of checks and balances is worthy of admiration and respect, especially in its ability to uphold the rights of law enforcement professions to carry out their job while safeguarding citizens' rights. We are grateful to the U.S. Supreme Court for another decision that recognizes the challenging and demanding work police officers in America face every day.

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The importance of City Council committees

By LAPPL Board of Directors on 02/14/2012 @ 02:48 PM

When most people think about the L.A. City Council, they think of its regular meetings at City Hall on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. (televised on L.A. CityView 35). What many don’t realize is that by the time an issue is ready for consideration by the 15-member Council, it’s already been reviewed and analyzed by one or more city council committees.

Not as visible as the City Council in session but crucial to the governing of our city, these committees perform investigative duties for the full Council and issue recommendations. The committee meetings are not generally televised but can be heard live and from the audio archives via Council Phone. Council Phone is a dial-up system that allows the public to listen to live coverage of the Los Angeles City Council and its committees from any phone using these numbers: Downtown (213) 621-CITY, West Los Angeles (310) 471-CITY, San Pedro (310) 547-CITY and Van Nuys (818) 904-9450.

The committees, and their chairs, are appointed by the President of the Council. When Councilmember Eric Garcetti resigned from the council presidency to run for Mayor, the Council elected Herb Wesson as his successor. Council President Wesson recently announced the committee assignments for 2012:

• Arts, Parks, Health and Aging: Alarcon, chair; LaBonge, vice chair; Reyes, member.
• Audits and Governmental Efficiency: Zine, chair; Rosendahl, vice chair; LaBonge, member.
• Budget and Finance: Krekorian, chair; Englander, vice chair; Cardenas, and Koretz, Rosendahl, members.
• Education and Neighborhoods: Parks, chair; Perry, vice chair; Zine, member.
• Energy and Environment: Huizar, chair; Zine, vice chair; Cardenas, Alarcon, and Koretz, members.
• Housing, Community and Economic Development: Cardenas, chair; Reyes, vice chair; Wesson, Alarcon, and Perry, members.
• Information Technology and General Services: Perry, chair; Buscaino, vice chair; Cardenas, member.
• Jobs and Business Development: Garcetti, chair; Parks, vice chair; LaBonge, member.
• Personnel and Animal Welfare: Koretz, chair; Alarcon, vice chair; Zine, member.
• Planning and Land Use Management: Reyes, chair; Huizar, vice chair; Englander, member.
• Public Safety: Englander, chair; Perry, vice chair; Buscaino, Krekorian, and Zine, members.
• Public Works: Buscaino, chair; Krekorian, vice chair; Garcetti, member.
• Rules and Elections: Wesson, chair; LaBonge, vice chair; Huizar, member.
• Trade, Commerce and Tourism: LaBonge, chair; Rosendahl, vice chair; Buscaino, member.
• Transportation: Rosendahl, chair; Koretz, vice chair; Parks, LaBonge, and Huizar, members.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League’s Board of Directors looks forward to working with each member of the City Council and the council committees in 2012 in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect.

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Disregarding state law continues to prove deadly

By LAPPL Board of Directors on 02/10/2012 @ 02:23 PM

Once again, a driver with a suspended driver's license, whose vehicle was returned to her by the California Highway Patrol, continued to drive and subsequently killed several people. On Friday, Feb. 3, at the corner of Florence and Halldale avenues, Moreno Valley resident Tenina Calhoun, stopped one month earlier for unlicensed driving, killed three of her passengers in a crash. Because her vehicle had not been impounded for 30-days on the prior stop, Calhoun was driving that same car in Friday’s crash.

On that same day, two Los Angeles police officers were injured when an unlicensed driver in Jefferson Park hit their patrol car. And on Saturday, a Long Beach police officer on his way to an unlicensed/DUI driver checkpoint was hit by an unlicensed driver.

How many tragedies is it going to take before those clamoring for a stop to unlicensed-driver vehicle impoundment admit they’re wrong? In September, we highlighted the story of an unlicensed driver whose vehicle was not impounded and who five days later, was behind the wheel of the vehicle that killed a young boy in a hit-and-run crash.

The legislature passed the impound law allowing the impoundment of vehicles operated by unlicensed drivers as a public safety measure. Unlicensed drivers have either not proven they know how to operate a motor vehicle safely, or were previously licensed drivers who had their driving privilege revoked because of moving violations.

Allowing unlicensed drivers to have a vehicle returned to them will only encourage them to continue driving, and increase the danger for others. The deaths of Tenina Calhoun’s passengers are yet another tragic reminder of that.

Blog updated with new information February 10 at 2200 hours.

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