Every now and then, Venice Beach is cursed with an overzealous cop who thinks it is his duty to root out the special spirit of the eclectic and tolerant beach community. Someone who equates individuality with deviancy, someone who equates freedom with anarchy, someone who feels it is duty to save us from ourselves and remove the dirtbags from out midst.
One such character is Mark Arnesen, who served as the sergeant overseeing the LAPD's Venice beach detail in the late 1990s. Known derisively as "the Cowboy," Arnesen tried to impose his will on disorderly Venice, treating denizens with disdain, and famously overreacting one day to a crowd at a concert, ordering in helicopters and a riot squad.
So what ever happened to Sgt. Law and Order? He is currently a criminal defendant in the celebrated Pellicano case, accused of racketeeringand running hundreds of unauthorized background checks for Pellicano.
Arnesen had a particularly tough day on the stand this week.
I don't take any delight in Arnesen's downfall, but having seen him at work here in Venice, it is hard not to believe in Karma.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Common Sense
Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton has finally spoken about the controversy swirling hysterically in local political circles over Special Order 40, a decades-old LAPD policy that prevents officers from scaring undocumented immigrants shitless and preventing them from reporting crimes or serving as witnesses.
Bratton, as the LA Times reported this morning, said that pretty much everyone in Los Angeles misunderstands the policy, which does not prohibit officers from helping deport criminals who are in this country illegally.
The issue, a long-simmering issue for right-wing talk show hosts, racists, and anti-immigration crazies, came to a boil a few weeks ago, after fringe mayoral candidate Walter Moore sucked the family of Jamiel Shaw into his crusade. Shaw, a promising youth athlete, was tragically killed last month. His accused killer is an undocumented immigrant with a long criminal record.
Moore and his supporters tried to link the killing to Special Order 40 -- although, as has been reported, there is no connection.
In today's paper, Bratton promised to clarify the LAPD policy, which he said even some cops don't understand or enforce properly:
Bratton said the recent criticism is based on a faulty understanding of the rule.
"There is a misrepresentation, misinterpretation, misunderstanding on the part of all the concerned parties here -- whether it is immigrant advocates, immigrant haters, the talk shows, drive-time radio talk-show hosts," Bratton said. "When it comes to our situation in L.A ., . . . the vast majority of them don't know what . . . they are talking about."
Bratton acknowledged some of his own officers were also confused about the policy. For example, he said, he has heard accounts of officers who believe they are prohibited from calling federal immigration officials to report known gang members who have committed crimes and reentered the country illegally."
Bratton continued:
"If you are an illegal immigrant out there and basically you are obeying the law and you are not preying on others, you don't have anything to fear from the Los Angeles police in terms of us approaching you solely on the belief you are here illegally," Bratton said.
Bratton acknowledged that his position was likely to infuriate both sides of the immigration debate, but he said he was confident he was acting in the best interest of the community.
"It is a tempest in a teapot," he said of the controversy over the policy. "It is so hopelessly, totally misunderstood by just about everyone."
Bratton, as the LA Times reported this morning, said that pretty much everyone in Los Angeles misunderstands the policy, which does not prohibit officers from helping deport criminals who are in this country illegally.
The issue, a long-simmering issue for right-wing talk show hosts, racists, and anti-immigration crazies, came to a boil a few weeks ago, after fringe mayoral candidate Walter Moore sucked the family of Jamiel Shaw into his crusade. Shaw, a promising youth athlete, was tragically killed last month. His accused killer is an undocumented immigrant with a long criminal record.
Moore and his supporters tried to link the killing to Special Order 40 -- although, as has been reported, there is no connection.
In today's paper, Bratton promised to clarify the LAPD policy, which he said even some cops don't understand or enforce properly:
Bratton said the recent criticism is based on a faulty understanding of the rule.
"There is a misrepresentation, misinterpretation, misunderstanding on the part of all the concerned parties here -- whether it is immigrant advocates, immigrant haters, the talk shows, drive-time radio talk-show hosts," Bratton said. "When it comes to our situation in L.A ., . . . the vast majority of them don't know what . . . they are talking about."
Bratton acknowledged some of his own officers were also confused about the policy. For example, he said, he has heard accounts of officers who believe they are prohibited from calling federal immigration officials to report known gang members who have committed crimes and reentered the country illegally."
Bratton continued:
"If you are an illegal immigrant out there and basically you are obeying the law and you are not preying on others, you don't have anything to fear from the Los Angeles police in terms of us approaching you solely on the belief you are here illegally," Bratton said.
Bratton acknowledged that his position was likely to infuriate both sides of the immigration debate, but he said he was confident he was acting in the best interest of the community.
"It is a tempest in a teapot," he said of the controversy over the policy. "It is so hopelessly, totally misunderstood by just about everyone."
The Quality of Mercy
A coalition of gay groups is urging that teenager killer of Lawrence King, who was shot at his Ventury County high school for being gay, not be tried as an adult.
This an admirable position, one is search of justice rather than vengeance, mercy rather than rage.
The alleged killer, 14 year-old Brandon McInerney, deserves to be punished. But he is clearly a messed up child -- and a civilized society meets out justice toward children in a different way than it does adults.
The coalition of groups includes Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Transgender Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Equality California, Gay Straight Alliance Network, Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
The full report comes from the exceptional and always informative Towleroad blog.
This an admirable position, one is search of justice rather than vengeance, mercy rather than rage.
The alleged killer, 14 year-old Brandon McInerney, deserves to be punished. But he is clearly a messed up child -- and a civilized society meets out justice toward children in a different way than it does adults.
The coalition of groups includes Lambda Legal, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Transgender Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Equality California, Gay Straight Alliance Network, Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
The full report comes from the exceptional and always informative Towleroad blog.
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