PARKS’ PLACE-As you may have heard, Tuesday, the Police Commission ruled that the LAPD violated its policy in the shooting death of 25-year-old Ezell Ford (who was bipolar in schizophrenic) in August 2014.
The Police Commission panel actually came to the conclusion that the use of deadly force was warranted since the officer believed he was in danger (allegedly Ford lunged for one of the officer’s guns, they did criticize the officer who pulled out his gun prematurely), but in the same breath, they said officers stopped Ford unjustly, and if he hadn’t been stopped, maybe this whole incident wouldn’t have occurred.
Similar to the incident leading to Freddie Gray’s arrest and subsequent death in Baltimore, the LAPD says Ford was walking in a high-crime area (with his hands in his pockets) so they had just cause to stop him and inquire what he was up to.
Although I haven’t read the report at length, I hope that the department can learn from this tragic incident, and truly internalize better ways to handle interaction with the public, mentally-ill or not.
It’s hard as hell. Police get paid to stereotype and human nature, though predictable, can also be fickle and erratic. I definitely think we need to do something about officers whose lack of tactics cause them to reach for their guns like they're reaching for their cell phones. How that became an instant reflex is concerning.These officer-involved shootings not only bring grief to families, but they’re costly to the City. LA has too many examples of multi-million-dollar payouts due to bad judgment calls. Earlier this year, the City paid a family close to $4 million dollars after an officer, while sitting in his car, shot someone in the head after the person moved his arm suddenly-apparently startling the officer. The person was unarmed.
I’m sure most of you have seen the latest episode of cops on candid camera, this time from McKinney, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.
This wasn’t Beach Blanket Bingo for sure and I wouldn’t be surprised if some (not all) members in the community would have preferred pool guests to resemble Annette Funicello, rather than strangers from the "other" part of town.
Unfortunately, like several officer-involved incidents before, the undercurrents and perception of race, class, and overly-aggressive police tactics all collided and made for salacious video for media to put on heavy rotation.There are several stories out there, but the common themes that I’ve heard is that yes, a fight did break out at the pool between adults and that kids were trying to sneak into the pool.
In the video, Corporal Eric Casebolt tumbles and rolls, cusses at the teens, pins and smacks a teenage girl in a swimsuit to the ground and yanks her hair, and even pulls his gun on a group. It was like watching a scene out of Police Academy or something. It was clearly apparent that Officer Casebolt's view of the circumstances and his personal perception of danger was significantly different from the other officers that responded to the scene.
Public opinion is swift, and the internet even more unforgiving so unsurprisingly, Officer Casebolt resigned. Mental health is so crucial. It is worth noting that the officer had responded to two suicide calls prior to arriving at the pool party so he possibly wasn’t in the best mindset- but such is the life of an officer; you have to go from A to Z as level as you can.
(Bernard Parks is Los Angeles Councilman for the 8th Council District. He is also former Los Angeles Police Chief. He can be reached at [email protected] )
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 49
Pub: Jun 16, 2015
