LAPPL Blog: The official blog of the Los Angeles Policy Protective League
Mourning the loss of three Southern California police officers
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 07/21/2011 @ 02:42 PM
Officer Brian Hayes, 35, of the Anaheim Police Department.
Officer Nicole Anderson, 32, of the Simi Valley Police Department.
Officer Ryan Stringer, 26, of the Alhambra Police Department.
We mourn the recent tragic deaths of three officers from different police departments in Southern California.
Brian Hayes, 35, of the Anaheim Police Department and Nicole Anderson, 32, of the Simi Valley Police Department, were killed in the crash of a small airplane in Arizona on July 16. They were the only passengers aboard the single-engine plane that went down during takeoff at Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport in Arizona.
Officer Hayes had been a police explorer and reserve officer before being hired by the Anaheim Police Department in 1999. He worked patrol for the department. Officer Anderson started with the Simi Valley Police Department in 2003. In her career, she worked as a bicycle officer, a member of the department’s crisis negotiation team, and most recently, the department’s youth services officer.
Only days before, on July 10, 26-year-old Alhambra Police Officer Ryan Stringer was killed in the line of duty when his patrol car collided with another police vehicle while responding to a robbery-in-progress call. His colleague in the other vehicle was briefly hospitalized.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends and colleagues of Officers Hayes, Anderson and Stringer during their time of grieving.
9th Circuit racks up a high reversal rate
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 07/19/2011 @ 04:52 PM
An L.A. Times news story today backed up our most recent post, which highlighted one of the major impediments to implementation of the death penalty in California: 9th Circuit judges who are basing their decisions not on the law but on their personal views.
In her story, “U.S. Supreme Court again rejects most decisions by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals,” L.A. Times staff writer Carol J. Williams reports:
The Supreme Court reversed or vacated 19 of the 26 decisions it looked at from the 9th Circuit this judicial term, issuing especially pointed critiques of the court's handling of cases involving prisoners' rights and death row reprieves.
Although the proportion of reversals was relatively in line with past years and other appellate circuits across the country, the 9th Circuit was often out of step even with the high court's liberal justices, who joined with the conservatives in 12 unanimous rulings.
In their reversals, the justices often expressed impatience with what they see as stubborn refusal by the lower court to follow Supreme Court precedent.
In short, the Supreme Court of the United States judged the 9th Circuit’s performance and found a continual refusal to follow precedent; it made pointed critiques of the 9th Circuit’s handling of death penalty cases, and determined that 9th Circuit opinions ran counter to established law. The only redeeming quality of the 9th Circuit’s decisions, perhaps, is that they succeeded in uniting a sometimes bitterly divided U.S. Supreme Court – 12 of the 19 reversals were unanimous!
When we hear California State Senator Loni Hancock (D-Oakland) and other death penalty opponents disingenuously argue for an end to the death penalty in California on the grounds that it is too costly, we point to the 9th Circuit’s behavior as one of the principal reasons for those escalating costs. As we asked in our last post, is there any doubt that the death penalty here would be carried out more expeditiously if California were under the jurisdiction of the 5th Circuit, which honors the rule of law?
Initiative to abolish death penalty is a red herring
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 07/11/2011 @ 01:05 PM
In a predictable but no less galling move, death penalty opponents are seizing on the current state fiscal crisis as the latest reason to end the death penalty in California. Having failed to convince the U.S. Supreme Court that the death penalty is unconstitutional, failed to convince voters it is immoral, failed to stop executions with attacks on lethal injections, opponents are now trying a different track. State Senator Loni Hancock has introduced a bill advancing the latest argument by opponents who steadfastly cling to only one principle – preventing execution by any means necessary.
Citing the death penalty’s financial cost to try to stop it is, frankly, an offensive argument. It is precisely penalty opponents in the Legislature and on the federal bench who have caused the cost to climb because of their deliberate – and to be blunt – dishonest efforts to thwart executions.
On average, five years pass before appellate counsel is appointed to death row inmates, and at least another five years pass before their first appeal is heard. These delays happen because death penalty opponents in the Legislature refuse to authorize market-rate pay for the attorneys, thereby creating a shortage of appellate lawyers for these cases. The Legislature also refuses to consider having California Appellate Courts hear the appeals, ensuring a lengthy wait before the backlogged California Supreme Court hears the appeal.
There is also the duplicity of the penalty’s fervent opponents who populate the federal bench in California and on the 9th Circuit. Five years have passed since Federal Judge Jeremy Fogel halted executions. Fogel issued a stay for Michael Morales because he objected to the qualifications of the staff administering injections. His indefinite hold on executions remains while he continues to mull whether the newly constructed execution chamber and new injection procedures meet his approval. Perhaps Senator Hancock could let us know the costs that have accrued while Judge Fogel takes his time to make a decision.
Finally, we have the 9th Circuit, a collection of judges who’ve repeatedly attempted to thwart executions in California. Who can forget the farce that was the execution of Robert Alton Harris, the first inmate executed since resumption of the death penalty? Four separate Justices of the 9th Circuit issued last-minute stays, each sequentially overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, which was then forced to issue an unprecedented order that the 9th Circuit have no further involvement in the case. Perhaps Senator Hancock could tally the costs associated with that case, too.
More recent evidence of the depths to which the 9th Circuit will sink to block executions can be found in the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Wong v. Belmontes. The U.S. Supreme Court, for a third time, overturned a 9th Circuit reversal of the death penalty for Belmontes. The unanimous Supreme Court pointedly called out the 9th Circuit for its latest decision, which the Supreme Court wrote, had suddenly “changed its view of the evidence.” Perhaps Senator Hancock can let us know the cost of the bogus appeals in the Belmontes case as well.
We refuse to stand by silently when, as outlined above, death penalty opponents deliberately drive up the cost of implementing the death penalty, and then cite cost as a reason to stop executions. There is no doubt that cost and delay would no longer be an issue if we could substitute the Justices of the 5th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas) for the 9th Circuit and have a legislature that would adequately fund the appeals process.
California budget delays affect vehicle registration rules
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 07/06/2011 @ 04:56 PM
Many people around the state have been concerned because their vehicle registration tags expire in July and they haven’t received their registration renewal notices from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
If you’re one of those motorists, you don’t have to worry.
Renewal notices were not sent to California drivers with a vehicle registration expiration date of July 1 or later because lawmakers had not yet reached an agreement on how much the fees would be after the June 30 conclusion of the fiscal year. Under normal circumstances, the DMV mails out registration renewal notices 60 days ahead of the expiration date.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding the renewal fees, the DMV announced that registration notices would be mailed on or close to the expiration date for those with registration tags expiring in July. Money will not be collected until registration notices are issued. For these drivers, penalties for delinquent payment will not be imposed until 30 days after the registration expiration date.
In addition, many law enforcement agencies have been instructed to refrain from citing these drivers until the first day of the second month after the vehicle registration expires.
Fees are still due as usual for tags that expired before July 1, and officers will still issue citations for those with long-expired tags or other registration violations, including not having tags properly displayed.
What’s going on here? L.A. crime declines, but assaults on police are rising
By on 07/01/2011 @ 05:41 PM
(credit: CBS)
In a disturbing disconnect, violent crime in Los Angeles is down 10.3 percent and property crime has declined by 7.9 percent, but it’s becoming more dangerous to be a police officer in this city.
Chief Beck reported this week that assaults on police officers are up by 42 percent over the same period last year, bringing the 2011 total to 97 attacks. This echoes a national trend, as reported by Daily News police reporter C.J. Lin.
Lin reports that “Among the attacks was the shooting of Officer Steve Jenkins, a K-9 handler who survived being shot in the jaw and shoulder on April 4 by a domestic violence suspect in Sylmar, sending police into a daylong standoff before the suspect was killed. Jenkins was released from the hospital after three weeks of surgery and recovery.”
KNX veteran reporter Pete Demetriou took to the streets to find out what cops think is driving the surge in assaults. He reported that “Officers David Stovill and Jared Vann, both serving in the Southwest division, said that the bad economy plays a role, increasing people’s desperation, and that they’re seeing more ex-convicts and non-revocable parolees out on the streets.”
Demetriou writes, “Officer Art Gallegos, a 10-year veteran, says those who lash out at law enforcement are often mentally ill, are drug users or have served prison time.” Demetriou adds, “As a result of the increased aggression, Gallegos says, there is more talk among law enforcement about tactics, officer safety and warning against complacency.”
We are nearing the release of a large number of inmates from state prison, and will be seeing fewer incarcerations for parolees who commit new crimes. Undoubtedly, this will result in more interactions between this population and law enforcement, which doesn’t bode well for officers in light of this year’s troubling trend of violence.
The comments from these LAPD officers should serve as a timely reminder. Take it to heart. Crime numbers may be down, but policing remains a dangerous profession.
Officers Michael Kim and Jimmy Lam: Decisive action saves woman from burning car
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 06/29/2011 @ 04:50 PM
LAPD officers are trained to expect the unexpected. A dramatic case in point: Hollywood Area Officers Michael Kim and Jimmy Lam were working traffic control after a Monday morning hit-and-run traffic collision near Santa Monica Boulevard and Western Avenue.
The officers noticed a Dodge Caravan unrelated to the traffic collision stopped at a nearby traffic light; heavy black smoke was coming from beneath the vehicle. After calling the Los Angeles Fire Department, the officers attempted to free the occupant from the van. However, she was unaware of the danger and did not understand what the officers wanted her to do.
But as thick smoke filled the van, the driver finally realized she needed to unlock the doors. Then the understandably frenzied occupant could not free herself from her seatbelt. Officer Kim used his pocketknife to cut her loose; and as toxic smoke and flames engulfed the vehicle, the officers used fire extinguishers from their police car to fight the fire until the fire department arrived.
We join the LAPD in commending Officer Michael Kim and Officer Jimmy Lam for their decisive action and heroism in rescuing the occupant unharmed and containing a dangerous situation.
Add massive prisoner release to California voters’ list of worries
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 06/23/2011 @ 04:05 PM
The consequences of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s release of dangerous inmates are an ongoing problem we’ve chronicled for some time now. It’s only common sense to expect trouble from the early and unsupervised release of improperly screened felons.
And with last month’s U.S. Supreme Court decision ordering California to release more than 30,000 inmates, voters are rightfully worried. A recent Field Poll showed that 79 percent of these voters believe the high court's order to release that many criminals from the state prison system over the next two years presents a serious problem.
L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca expressed concerns over the ruling’s impact on our communities, since nearly a third of the state’s prison population comes from this county. Compliance with the order means L.A. County could see more than 11,000 felons on its streets – more than any other county.
“Make no mistake about it, the sheriffs and local police are going to be very, very busy trying to figure out a way to manage this population," said Baca recently. State leaders, still wrangling over the budget, shouldn’t drop inmate housing and parolee monitoring responsibilities on local governments without giving them adequate funding.
We repeat our call for the early involvement of local law enforcement and prosecutors statewide in the drafting of inmate-release criteria. There’s no doubt the LAPD, local prosecutors and every law enforcement agency across the state will soon be dealing with these inmates.
Given CDCR’s messy handling of various ill conceived early release programs over the last few years, law enforcement agencies would rather have input in release decisions instead of simply responding to the ensuing crimes.
Devising better release criteria is the least we can do for Californians.
Hybrid Clean Air Vehicle Decal program ends July 1, 2011
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 06/21/2011 @ 04:40 PM
If you’ve been driving a hybrid vehicle and are lucky enough to have a yellow decal that gives you the privilege of driving in carpool lanes without the required number of occupants, your days are numbered.
Yellow clean air vehicle stickers are valid only until July 1, 2011.
The yellow “Access OK” stickers will no longer allow use of diamond lanes to the over 85,000 people who have them. According to the Department of Motor Vehicles and a notice on the California Air Resources website, the program will expire July 1st. Drivers of vehicles with a white clean air sticker will still be able to use the high occupancy vehicle lanes, irrespective of the number of occupants until January 1, 2015.
Anyone driving solo in the carpool lane (without a white clean air sticker) after July 1st risks getting a hefty ticket if they are not operating their vehicle with the required number of passengers.
The program was created by the 2004 passage of a state law. The number of stickers was capped at 85,000. At the time, just 85,000 hybrids were being sold annually nationwide. By 2007, the stickers were gone. The driving privilege was supposed to end a year later. Then it was extended.
Solo commuters will still have the ability to drive on the Interstate 15 express lanes in northern San Diego County and the Highway 91 express lanes in eastern Orange County by paying a toll.
The news is not all bad. As a result of more recent legislation, the DMV will soon issue a new generation of clean-air stickers in 2012 for plug-in hybrids and other vehicles currently under development. When the stickers are issued, they will allow 40,000 advanced technology vehicles, which meet even stricter California emission standards, to use carpool lanes.
In the meantime, if you are the owner of hybrid clean air vehicle displaying the yellow Clean Air Vehicle sticker, please heed the warning and do not drive your car in the high occupancy vehicle lane unless the minimum passenger requirements are met.
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