Three officers, two retired, one of whom I know and like, are indicted five years after an incident. Gimme a break.
Tag: police culture
Coming home to roost
Seems like the drug war is now chipping away at the freedom and privacy of police officers. In L.A., gang and narcotic officers will have to turn over detailed personal financial information. The story.
Police converge in Oakland for funeral
The Oakland Tribunereports on this as does the San Francisco Chronicle: “The funeral will be unprecedented in at least one other respect – all 815 members of the Oakland Police Department are being allowed to attend.” It is set for 11AM.
He was a monster
I spend a lot of time defending the media. That’s an unpopular position among 90% of police officers. Well I’m not going to defend the S.F. Chroniclehere. Just yesterday the paper decided they needed to report “both” sides of the cop killings in Oakland. In their story, to my great dismay, they did what what lazy or dumb journalists do…
Smart Cop
I love smart cops. And I love cops than can write. After all, a lot of policing is about what you can articulate in writing. Here’s an op-ed in the New York Daily News from NYPD Captain Brandon del Pozo. He’s smarter than your average bear. The bailout: What would cops and firefighters do to save the economy? If companies…
The Wire’s Realism
One of the issues that came up in Baltimore at the conference I was at is the realism of The Wire. I say The Wireis about 75% – 80% realistic. Not 100%. But 74% ain’t bad. And being “real” three out of four times is still about three times more realistic than any other cop show ever made. But I’m…
4 Police Officers Shot in Oakland
Here’s the story. Update (12:40am): Three of the officers have died, I just read. “On Saturday, people lingered at the scene of the traffic-stop shooting. About 20 bystanders taunted the police.” Update (Monday 1pm): The fourth officer has been declared brain dead.
Beyond Hope?
Michael East is a veteran police officer in Saginaw, Michigan. He’s also an excellent writer. He has a new book coming out. Beyond Hope? Saginaw, not that you’d know, is a pretty messed up place of rusted industry and abandonment. It’s lost about half its population. Even Habitat for Humanity is helping tear it down. Mike’s book is great. I…
A policeman’s job is only easy in a police state
So says Ramon “Mike” Vargas (Charlton Heston) in Orson Well’s 1958 “Touch of Evil” (thanks, Dave H.). Two Peoria, Illinois, police officers were arrested in relation to a police stomping. Here’s the story in the Peoria Journal Star. I worry about publicizing such things because they make people think such behavior is normal for police. It’s not. Such beat downs…
Police officer fired for neglect, cowardice after failing to shoot at gunman
Policing is one of the few jobs where “cowardice” can get you fired. Here’s a fascinating storyby Brendan McCarthy in the New Orleans Times-Picayune about a police officer fired for not shooting a gun man. They see a man standing about 50 feet away in the street, pointing a gun. Pop, pop. … He chose to hold his fire and…