Comments@THE GUSS REPORT-For an agency that deals continuously in alibis, the Los Angeles Police Department has difficulty remembering those it tells on behalf of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti.
And dishonesty at the top of any organization eventually trickles down and corrupts good people on their way up the food chain.
Precisely one hundred days ago, I received a letter from a detective with the LAPD's Internal Affairs Group. It stated how important it is for me to cooperate with its investigation of my complaint that an officer with its Public Records division wanted to know why I sought records regarding an alleged domestic incident between Garcetti and another man.
The government has no right to know why someone wants public records but tries to find out because such requests are almost always bad news and could be deeply embarrassing, costly or expose criminal activity.
As I wrote in this column two months back, I immediately reached out to the detective twice but got no response from her. I waited a week after that column was published and called again. But the third time was not the charm either because while she answered the phone, she balked at talking and promised to call me the next business day.
Two months later, I am still waiting for that call.
In other words, the LAPD's assertion that it was investigating my complaint and needed my cooperation was a load of horsie sauce. It only wants the illusion of doing so. It is just trying to run out the clock in Garcetti's fading political career even as he gleefully guts millions from its budget.
Regardless, my public records expert, attorney Paul Nicholas Boylan of Davis, California, is pushing ahead with legal efforts to obtain the requested records, which might ultimately cost the taxpayers a hefty payout in legal fees.
Meanwhile, Garcetti is supposed to be deposed in the serial sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Matt Garza, his former LAPD bodyguard. He alleges that the Mayor's guy pal and former high-ranking advisor Rick Jacobs was regularly grabby and kissy with him in an unwelcome way in Garcetti's giggling, titillated presence, an allegation Garcetti refutes but which rings entirely true.
It is no surprise that the name of the man allegedly involved in the domestic dispute with Garcetti has surfaced in negotiations about what questions the Mayor may face in the Garza deposition. Rumor has it that Garcetti won't have to field any, but lies have a way of surfacing when the Mayor is in the room. The media lets Garcetti get away with them, but it won't be nearly as comfortable when he is under oath.
Expect a significant payout in the Garza suit, as well, especially since abusive LA City Attorney Mike Feuer, whose office was raided by the FBI in its wide-ranging corruption probe but still delusionally sees himself as Garcetti's successor, failed to block his deposition.
Meanwhile, the collateral damage to the LAPD is once again self-inflicted. Internal Affairs continues demonstrating that it does not investigate matters when it says that it does. That hurts every other investigation, including those involving life and death.
I will let you know if the detective returns this column's three calls at some point, what comes of it, and mark-off how many more days she waits before doing so.
(Daniel Guss, MBA, was runner-up for the 2020 Los Angeles Press Club journalism award for Best Online Political Commentary and has contributed to CityWatch, KFI AM-640, iHeartMedia, 790-KABC, Cumulus Media, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Magazine, Movieline Magazine, Emmy Magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Pasadena Star News, Los Angeles Downtown News, and the Los Angeles Times in its Sports, Opinion and Entertainment sections and Sunday Magazine, among other publishers. His opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CityWatch.) Photo: Daily News/SCNG. Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.