Union responds
LA Times Op-Ed
Jun 25, 2008
Re "LAPD in the dark" (June 25):
There is an element of "people in glass houses throwing stones" in your editorial coverage of SB 1019.
What the editorial doesn't make clear is that the media itself was on the losing end of the state Supreme Court case that pitted law enforcement officers' privacy against the press's desire to exploit their names to sell newspapers. In the interest of the very transparency that your editorial espouses, that should have been made clear.
We also take issue with the editorial equating "police officer accountability" with the dismantling of privacy protections. Most Americans are accountable in their jobs without losing their right to privacy. LAPD officers should be no different.
And lastly, the bill was defeated because it unfairly targeted only one law enforcement agency, which is why Chief Bratton did not support this amended legislation. You erroneously suggested that this current bill was one he supported.
TIMOTHY SANDS President, Los Angeles Police Protective League