Comments on: LAPD Chief William Bratton Profiled in L.A. Times

By: The rest of the interview - Notes from Los Angeles

The rest of the interview - Notes from Los Angeles — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:33:57 +0000

[...] you caught Joel Rubin’s profile of Chief Bratton on Sunday, the complete interview he conducted with veteran LAPD officer Jack Dunphy is a good [...]

By: Patricia

Patricia — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:58:16 +0000

Scott, that reminds me of something blogger Sandmonkey once wrote about Arab tyrants: they lose wars because they promote all the worst generals. If the tyrant promoted the good ones, he would be deposed forthwith by a competent military. The principles of tyranny are universal, I guess!

By: Apogee

Apogee — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:19:54 +0000

#1 – Scott Jacobs – Not that someone with a spine would ever be considered.

Not just a spine, Scott, but someone who might look a little too hard at what the political class is doing in their ’spare time’ (which for Mayor Villaraigosa is 23.5 hours out of the day)

The real reason for the ’scandals’ in the LAPD, IMO, was to remove any trace of independence between the police department and the Mayor’s office. Dunphy’s right, Parker was probably the last great Chief this city will ever see, and that’s due to the fact that the politicians don’t want someone looking over their shoulder. The LA Times should be pointing this out, but we know their allegiances, and its not with the people of LA.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:55:12 +0000

From what I read, Bratton wants to be may of NYC so he’s preparing his path. Who wants a politician cop though for mayor?

By: Marc

Marc — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:34:23 +0000

dear mr. dunphy:

thanks so much for writing. i think it’s very, very important for us to know what our police think and you do a great service.

By: Another Drew

Another Drew — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:38:47 +0000

Comment by Ken Hahn — 12/7/2008 @ 12:18 pm

Williams, Parks, Bratton…
We didn’t have it so bad under Daryl Gates, did we?

By: Ken Hahn

Ken Hahn — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:18:27 +0000

The LAPD hasn’t recovered from William Parker’s retirement. He was the last decent Chief and will probably prove to be the last ever. LAPD is now a political institution. Parks and Bratton are politicians who happen to have chosen to begin their careers as cops.

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:14:26 +0000

________________________________

The department stills spends an inordinate amount of time and energy investigating complaints that are plainly absurd. And officers on the street are fearful of becoming involved in the next politically charged incident.

My greatest fear — and I hope I’m being way too cynical and pessimistic — is local police departments (the LAPD in particular) going the way of law enforcement in a country like Mexico. That’s where a combination of idiotic politics (”The Democrat Party is fabulous!”), and the government officials that grow out of that, and a dumbed-down populace (”Republicans/conservatives are unkind, boring and greedy!”) foster an atmosphere where cops are more likely to be corrupt, where most people view cops as crooked, where a lot of people throughout local government either are on the take or wedded to power-hungry unionism, and where crime can easily flourish.

I know the LAPD (and LA City Hall in general) was notorious for being full of corruption several decades ago. But when I observe what’s going on in Mexico today, all I can say is “if you want to know what ‘bad’ is like, you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

By: MayBee

MayBee — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:03:16 +0000

I can’t help but love Bratton, though, when he makes fun of the proposed paparazzi stalker laws.

By: Scott Jacobs

Scott Jacobs — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 08:58:42 +0000

You, sir, should replace Bratton.

Not that someone with a spine would ever be considered.

At the very least, you should post more.