Watch Your Six - June 2017

Accountability 101 (continued from May)
I didn’t think I was going to be in this position after last month’s article on our Police Commissioner Shane Murphy Goldsmith. I had this month all planned and had full intentions to write about my 23rd personnel complaint. It was a doozy. If you haven’t seen a League Director pucker up and plant one on the backside of a Police Commissioner before, you’re in luck, because I’m going to keep it that way. It’s not going to happen. But I do have to throw out some kudos, maybe even a “Metro nod” if I see Commissioner Goldsmith in the future. It’s not very often someone in command staff makes the gallant effort to hang out with us “bullet traps.” You know, “the expendable ones” that they make cop movies and shows about with some star appearances on the news and YouTube. I have yet to see one movie made about a commander’s adjutant.

I don’t want to take up valuable ad space by rewriting the whole incident (article) that brings us to this point. You can always enjoy last month’s Thin Blue Line. But here’s a recap. Not long ago, Commissioner Goldsmith said something at a Police Commission meeting that most officers would have found offensive. She had realized her mistake either on her own or by being called out by her fellow Commissioners. That part isn’t clear. But what is clear is she, on her own, had called the League to try and make things right with our members. How I got involved is also very clear. I was told to take the phone call by the League President. I thought to myself, this has got to be a joke, right? Remember that 23rd complaint I was going to write about? I was primed to top that! I could have gone down in LAPD history as “that guy!”

I was pleasantly surprised by her apology, and it did prevent me from receiving another “mouth beef,” but that wasn’t enough for me because this wasn’t about me. It was about the League membership. I didn’t want to push my luck too much, after all, she’s our boss. So I only asked her if she would consider doing some “ride-alongs,” real “ride-alongs.” She immediately agreed, and I struck fast by having her commit to a “walk-along” on Skid Row with our very own Central Area SLO Deon Joseph. I kept tabs on her to see if she ever followed through, and she did. I believe she missed an OIS by a day or so that Central Division had on Skid Row after our officers came face to face with a suspect armed with a knife who had already stabbed three people and would have stabbed more. I thought about the incident repeatedly. Could you imagine if she had witnessed an OIS in person? I will let your imagination take it from here.

I felt that Commissioner Goldsmith needed to get out and meet us. Like most the civilians out there, I formed the opinion she probably has not had much contact with the police in her life growing up, or if she did, it may have been negative. If you think about it, not many people have had a positive contact with the police. It’s not like people call 911 to invite us to a party. They call 911 to invite us to someone else’s party, and it’s to deliver bad news. I was hoping that by meeting some “real street cops and detectives,” her opinion may change or at least balance it. Either way, it’s a start.

Over the next few weeks, I made the effort to attend all the Police Commission meetings. I wanted to observe firsthand if any of our Police Commissioners would pull something similar; they didn’t. But they did continue to “dogpile” us with all types of recommendations, which the League will take a hard look at, and a new UOF policy. I also noticed the number of brave officers who are assigned to protect the Commission. I quickly sized each one up and positioned myself away from the one who appeared to be most capable of body slamming me easily, just in case I wanted to disrupt the meeting just like the crowd in attendance does on a regular basis. I had also concluded that those officers are probably not needed in there. It would have been easier to have caused a scene had they not been in there, but that’s just me.

During my travels of passing through these meetings, I did come face to face with several of the Commissioners. All of them were pleasant, courteous and professional. But I was on a mission, and my sights were set on Commissioner Goldsmith. I don’t know if I could have planned this out any better or whether she just has bad luck. Every time she walked into PAB, I just happened to be in her path. Again, use your imagination. She apparently did her homework because when I asked, “Have you been in the field lately?” to my surprise, she was able to name several divisions where she either took ride-alongs and/or visited a roll call. Here it is: Hollenbeck (apparently more than once), Newton, 77th, Southeast, Hollywood, Wilshire, Pacific, Rampart and her maiden voyage of Skid Row. I apologize if I missed a division, but I forgot to turn on my body camera under the stress. But I did a background check and confirmed her visits. So kudos to you, Commissioner Goldsmith, for putting forward the effort and meeting some of us. And here is one “Metro nod” for stopping to speak to me. I would like to encourage you to keep it up. Everyone knows the longer someone stays at PAB, the more distant they become from real police work.

Be safe out there.

If you have questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].