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GUEST COMMENTARY - Los Angeles Police Chief Moore should not be reappointed by Mayor Karen Bass or by the Los Angeles Police Commission because of his recent decisions to allow individuals who were passed over for admission to the Los Angeles Police Academy to refile a new application.
When an individual submits an application to enter into the field of law enforcement, the applicant must undergo a complete and comprehensive background investigation (a lengthy time frame) followed by a psychological examination and for many law enforcement agencies also undergo a polygraph assessment.
Most large city law enforcement agencies today are looking for applicants who have obtained a two-year or four-year college degree. Old fashioned street and or common sense is not taken into account.
The best candidates are no longer applying to become members of our law enforcement community. Why? For a number of reasons, most being political, such as, the call to defund law enforcement, criminal justice reform, individuals who commit crimes not being held accountable, and extreme minded liberal elected officials, such as District Attorney George Gascon.
Major cities throughout the United States have a major shortage of police officers. It is these same cities that have also seen a major uptake in both violent and property related criminal offenses.
More recently Chief Moore has requested his LAPD recruitment unit to send out letters to those individuals whose applications were rejected as a result of their background checks to re-apply to become police officers with the Los Angeles Police Department.
The question is now why does Moore want to send the message that it is ok to lower the standards to become a Los Angeles Police officer?
The Los Angeles Police Commission just implemented new guidelines for police officers on how much alcohol they can consume (not above .04%) while off duty and wearing a firearm. This new policy was put into place because of several off-duty LAPD officers within days of each other were involved in vehicle code violations while driving under the influence of alcohol.
Virginia State Police who initially denied any knowledge that their police officer Austin Lee Edwards who took his own life after killing three people in Riverside, California had a history of mental illness.
Virginia State police subsequently acknowledged that they were made aware of Edward's mental health issues but failed to conduct a complete background check on Edwards.
I recently communicated with a retired Los Angeles Police officer who stated that prior to Christopher Dorner being hired on as a Los Angeles police officer he took Dorner on a ride along and during the ride along Dorner displayed odd and questionable behavior. This officer stated he shared his concerns with others, yet Dorner was subsequently hired by LAPD. Dorner was later fired by LAPD. After Dorner’s termination, he went on to kill 4 people and wound 3 others to include members of the law enforcement community before he himself was killed during a shootout with San Bernardino county sheriffs .
After Dorner’s death, LA Times wrote an article that stated Dorner had a history of involvement in domestic violence. Dorner's LAPD background check failed to note his history in Domestic Violence.
Who can forget about Rafael Perez, the LAPD officer involved in the Horrific Rampart Scandal. Perez during his tenure as a Los Angeles Police officer was involved in numerous illegal activities including the transportation of illegal drugs and questionable shootings. After Perez was arrested, he implicated 70 other Rampart police officers in various forms of misconduct ranging from bad shootings to consumption of alcohol while on duty. Over 100 previous court convictions were overturned.
Prior to being hired by LAPD, Perez had been rejected and passed over for hiring by several other southern California law enforcement departments’ background investigators.
Because of the Rampart Scandal LAPD was placed under a Federal Consent Degree.
New rules and guidelines were also implemented and established by LAPD on more strict background checks on those who apply to become LAPD officers.
Now Moore is willing to forsake complete background checks just so he can hire on more police officers.
Moore is willing to set aside the overall welfare and safety of all of the residents and stakeholders of not only the city of Los Angeles but also the county and the whole state of California.
We must not allow Moore to lower the standards of those who want to become members of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Moore also wants to extend the BOUNCE (One additional year of services after the 5-year DROP program) to all those officers who have retired from the DROP program within a year’s time. Some have said it would be only for those with the rank of Sergeant and lower while others say it applies to all members of the LAPD.
It is anticipated that from this date thru the end of March 2023 LAPD may lose up to 300 hundred police officers because of regular retirement, those who have completed the DROP program, and others who are leaving LAPD for other law enforcement agencies.
The current morale within the ranks of LAPD is at its lowest point ever. There are so many command staff members who are throwing knives in each other backs.
When Moore leaves, he should also take his Assistant Chiefs with him.
It is once again time for the Mayor of Los Angeles to hire a new Chief of Police from the outside.
LAPD needs a good house cleaning!!!!!
(Caroline Aguirre is a retired 24-year State of California law enforcement officer, LAPD family member, community activist and Neighborhood Watch captain. Aguirre is a CityWatch contributor. The opinions expressed by Caroline Aguirre do not necesarilhy reflect those of CityWatch.)