LAPPL Responds to Letter from Civic Leader

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 29, 2008
Contact: Jude Schneider (310) 854-8251
Eric Rose (805) 624-0572

LAPPL Responds to Letter from Civic Leader

Los Angeles, January 29, 2008 – In response to the letter to the members of the Los Angeles City Council from a group of concerned citizens including Warren Christopher, Cindy Miscikowski and fifteen others, Tim Sands, President of the Los Angeles Police Protective League has issued the following statement:

“Nowhere in their letter do the well-intentioned civic leaders suggest that the financial disclosure plan under discussion should be implemented in order to root out or prevent corruption.

“Instead, their basic argument seems to be that since the judge ‘has devoted so much of his time to protecting the citizens of the City’ we should support this very problematic plan. They also make the erroneous suggestion that this policy was the ‘product of substantial thought and negotiation.’ In fact, after substantial thought and negotiation, the Department of Justice and the City came to agreement on a completely different proposal, one that would be effective at reducing potential corruption and does not violate state law.

“We urge the signers of of the letter to support a program that does more than allow the City to check off a box on the Consent Decree. We hope they will join us in our goal to support a proposal that offers real potential to root out corruption, while furthering the broader objectives of the Consent Decree to improve public safety and security for all of Los Angeles’ residents.”

About the LAPPL

Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents the more than 9,000 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPPL can be found on the Web at www.LAPD.com