A hearing on Charlie Beck becomes a love fest for the LAPD chief. latimes/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-lapd-chief-charlie-beck-hearing-20140613-story.html LAPD Chief Charlie Beck (Los Angeles Times) Jim Newton contact the reporter LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck enjoyed long, appreciative applause at a hearing Thursday night If Thursday night’s public hearing in Canoga Park is any indicator, Chief Charlie Beck is carrying warm public support into his bid for another five years at the head of the Los Angeles Police Department. About 100 people turned out for the evening meeting of the Police Commission, and it was a boisterous, supportive crowd, frequently applauding and even cheering for the chief. That’s not to say that people didn’t have their issues with the Police Department. Residents complained of transients and trash, young people openly smoking marijuana and, above all, traffic. Still, they recognized that crime is down; in that part of the West Valley, overall crime has fallen 12.8% over the same period last year, according to the area captain. That drew long, appreciative applause. Of the dozen or so speakers who addressed the commission Thursday, almost all endorsed Beck’s application for reappointment. One, a USC professor and native of Los Angeles, said Beck was “great…. In my lifetime, as a native Angeleno, Chief Beck is the best we’ve ever had.” Beck, sitting just a few feet away, beamed. Indeed, the only speaker to oppose Beck’s appointment was an LAPD officer, a veteran defense representative who works to defend police officers accused of misconduct. He contended that some officers who are assigned to light duty because of injuries are being asked to work in patrol cars even though they are not able to perform full police work. Calling them “ghost cars” or “Caspers,” the officer said they present the illusion that the patrol force is larger than it is. Commissioners took note of his complaint but did not respond (they are constrained from responding to items not on their agenda). Still, that was the aberration in an evening largely devoted to thanking Beck and the LAPD for their efforts in the San Fernando Valley, particularly the West Valley. “This process is very much about me and the commission hearing from you,” Beck said at the outset. What he heard was clearly pleasing. Steve Soboroff, president of the Police Commission, thanked residents profusely for turning out and sharing their impressions. The commission, he said, expects to decide on Beck’s application at its Aug. 12 meeting. San Fernando Valley residents turn out to support LAPD Chief Charlie Beck at town hall meeting dailynews/government-and-politics/20140612/san-fernando-valley-residents-turn-out-to-support-lapd-chief-charlie-beck-at-town-hall-meeting By Dana Bartholomew, Los Angeles Daily News WINNETKA >> Under his watch, violent crime across Los Angeles has dropped, complaints against police have plummeted and cops now respond to calls 20 seconds sooner. Police Chief Charlie Beck has asked for another five-year term. And at an L.A. Police Commission hearing in Winnetka on Thursday evening to review his term, many residents declared he should get it. “I’ve been all around the world, and I can tell you L.A. is great. And the work under Chief Beck … is working,” Charles Nava “Skip” Wrightson, an outreach worker at the Guadalupe Community Center in Canoga Park, told the police commission. “We’re a partnership -- and it’s working. I applaud you. “It’s not just words, folks. It’s actions. And that’s what it’s all about.” The city’s third community input meeting was among numerous Police Commission hearings to be held throughout the summer on whether Beck should be able to keep his job. After listening to comments about his performance, commission members will make a decision by Aug. 20. The packed town hall meeting at A.G.B.U. Manoogian-Demirdjian School was attended by several hundred people, including dozens of uniformed officers. They came to praise the four-star chief for a community partnership to cut crime. Or they came to address persistent crime in their neighborhoods, including home burglaries, drug dealing and scofflaw drivers, noisy trucks and graffiti. “We’re happy to be out here,” said Steve Soboroff, president of the commission. “I’m a local boy, from Taft (High School). And it’s great. We are here to listen. It’s meaningful to us.” Beck, a 37-year Los Angeles Police Department veteran with a son and daughter serving in the LAPD, replaced Chief William Bratton in November 2009 while the LAPD was still under a federal consent decree that arose largely out of the Rampart corruption scandal. During his term, the 60-year old chief pushed the final reforms needed to end federal oversight. He has also waged a strong battle against crime, while working under dire budget constraints during the recession. While crime in Los Angeles has decreased each year for 11 years, Beck has cut gang-related crime in half. In addition, between 2008 and 2013 the number of serious and violent crimes from robbery to murder dropped 19 percent, from 127,324 to 100,521. During the same period, the number of citizens complaints against Los Angeles police officers fell 40 percent, from 5,899 to 3,543. Meanwhile, the average police response time quickened from 6.2 minutes to 5.9 minutes, a five-percent improvement. In the San Fernando Valley, crime in the past year fell 9.8 percent, the largest drop of anywhere in the city, police commanders reported Thursday. In Topanga Division, it dropped 12.8 percent, with 300 fewer crime victims. “I’m very proud to be the chief of police,” Beck said. “Public trust is what makes this department great; without public trust, we could not succeed. And that’s what this hearing is about.” And hear he did. One by one, roughly two dozen residents strode up to a microphone. Most supported Beck and his uniformed rank and file. Others focused on the need to address certain crimes. Or a lack of apparent police presence in their neighborhoods. “I’ve been robbed twice while I was at work, so I’m afraid of this neighborhood,” said Sue Basowski, of Winnetka, who can recall a day when it was safe for her kids to go out and play. “I’m thinking of moving elsewhere.” Others spoke of worsening traffic, and the often anarchy caused by motorists who drive at unsafe speeds, blow through stop signs and make illegal U-turns across the west Valley. “At any one time in the San Fernando Valley, there are only six or seven motorcycle cops,” said Dr. Paul Milberg, a 58-year-old plastic surgeon who has repaired the faces of victims caused by accidents. “I can’t believe how poorly it’s patrolled. “(But) I think Charlie Beck is great,” added the Los Angeles native. “In my lifetime … (he’s) the best we’ve ever had.” If there has been any general criticism of the Long Beach native who replaced the charismatic predecessor from Boston, it’s been over officer discipline -- that he’s been too soft on a few errant officers. Under his command, eight Los Angeles officers returned to patrol after firing more than 100 rounds at two women delivering newspapers during the Christopher Dorner manhunt. The chief also nixed a city disciplinary panel’s recommendation to fire one cop caught lying to investigators about issuing a racial slur. Beck opted for temporary suspension. Both the officer’s father and uncle served in the LAPD, raising questions about favored treatment. These concerns, however, were not addressed at the hearing. Criticism included one police officer complaining of “phantom cars,” or units assigned to patrol without drivers. Another addressed the millions in legal costs associated with police complaints and lawsuits. One woman resident said it took police 2½ hours to respond to a request to boot an unwelcome boyfriend of her daughter. Another said it took more than 7 minutes to get a front-desk cop on the phone at her local station. But most testified in favor of the mustachioed chief, who leaned forward as if to hear every word. “I give Chief Beck my support,” said Connie Ho, president of the Canoga Park Neighborhood Council. “You’re doing a wonderful job on a very lean budget. You have restored the reputation of the LAPD. “With a new sheriff in town, he could learn from the LAPD.
Posted on: Sat, 14 Jun 2014 12:23:13 +0000
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