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Gary Ingemunson

Warning Bells - October 2017

Dunderheads?

Did you realize that 52 percent of Categorical Uses of Force are Administratively Disapproved for at least one officer, and usually more than one? The standard for Administrative Disapproval is that an officer has “substantially deviated from Department policy or training without justification.”

Warning Bells - September 2017

De-escalation is not a tactic, it is a result

That is what I was told at the Force Science Institute’s two-day seminar on “Realistic De-escalation.” As you know, the Police Commission has insisted on modifying our Use of Force Policy to include de-escalation, and de-escalation has become the buzzword that will solve all the use of force problems nationwide if only those darn cops could be forced to use it!

Warning Bells - August 2017

TASER tag, and you’re it!

The Police Commission is becoming alarmed, and, therefore, so is the Department. TASER use is going up. No kidding, you say. Every patrol officer now must wear one on their belt. Of course, TASERs are being used more. Wasn’t that the idea? Didn’t Commission President Johnson mandate this in his November 2015 Vision and Goals statement?

Warning Bells - July 2017

Outside the LAPD box

We have our hands full with local LAPD problems and there is not much time to think about the law enforcement problems across the nation, but every once in a while, it is good to escape the LAPD bubble and look at what is happening nationally to other law enforcement agencies. Consequently, I ended up attending the Law Enforcement Summit on Transparency and Accountability put on by JMS Associates.

Warning Bells - June 2017

Fantasy-based policing

On May 2, 2017, the Police Commission adopted the recommendations of the Inspector General (IG) in a report titled “Review of National Best Practices.” This report compared LAPD to two documents that purported to be the latest, greatest views on policing. The first was the “Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing,” which was put together and published in 90 days by a committee of police executives and college professors at the direction of President Obama. The second was “Guiding Principles on Use of Force” published by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), an East Coast think tank. Conveniently ignored in the IG report is the fact that this PERF report was roundly criticized by the ...

Warning Bells - May 2017

Lemonade

The Police Commission handed officers a lemon in November of 2015 when newly appointed Police Commission President Matt Johnson decided that uses of force must go down and changing our policy was the way to accomplish that goal. The Inspector General filed a report in March of 2016 that recommended incorporating de-escalation into the Use of Force Policy, among many other things. So, how do we turn a lemon into lemonade?

Warning Bells - April 2017

Another reason not to use your personal cellphone for work

On March 2, 2017, the California Supreme Court gave police officers another reason to leave their personal cellphones in the locker when they suit up and head out to the streets. Now your personal cellphone might be subject to a California Public Records Act (CPRA) request along with being subjected to subpoenas for criminal and civil cases.

Warning Bells- March 2017

Police Commission administrative disapprovals matter

When you are involved in a categorical use of force, it starts a chain reaction. First, of course, is the Force Investigation Division interview the night of the use of force. Then, there’s the restriction from the field until you are cleared by Behavioral Science Section and the Chief hears about your shooting at the 72-hour briefing. Then, about nine months later, there is a Use of Force Board. FID makes a presentation of the investigation to the Board, and the Board makes a recommendation to the Chief of Police.

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