A new report commissioned by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors found, according to the Los Angeles Times, that "Almost half of all people shot at by Los Angeles County sheriff's
deputies after they reached for their waistbands turned out to be
unarmed ... ." The report, analyzing six years of data, found that over the last year the number of unarmed people shot by county deputies increased by 50 percent. Per the Times: "'Waistband shootings' are particularly controversial because the
justification for the shootings can conceivably be fabricated after the
fact, according to the county monitor's report. The monitor was careful
to point out that the report wasn't making the case deputies were being
dishonest, simply that the spike in those shootings left the department
vulnerable to criticism."
In the police use-of-force issues I've covered, police always say their life was in danger and often say that the suspect reached for a weapon. That may often is true, but it isn't always true, and it's difficult to penetrate the thick blue wall of police union protections to get at the truth. The above-referenced county report provides reason for concern. So does this report today about corruption among LA County deputies. We're all rightly concerned about the union role in pumping up unsustainable pensions, but equally important is the union role in protecting government employees from adequate oversight and accountability. Opinions seem to be shifting a bit. In conservative Orange County, a Republican DA who often has been protective of law enforcement filed murder charges in this case of police who beat to death a homeless man in Fullerton. The public was outraged at the killing and such outrage may be the most important factor in driving the many changes needed with regard to the nation's overpaid and under-accountable public sector, especially in union-controlled states such as California.
In the police use-of-force issues I've covered, police always say their life was in danger and often say that the suspect reached for a weapon. That may often is true, but it isn't always true, and it's difficult to penetrate the thick blue wall of police union protections to get at the truth. The above-referenced county report provides reason for concern. So does this report today about corruption among LA County deputies. We're all rightly concerned about the union role in pumping up unsustainable pensions, but equally important is the union role in protecting government employees from adequate oversight and accountability. Opinions seem to be shifting a bit. In conservative Orange County, a Republican DA who often has been protective of law enforcement filed murder charges in this case of police who beat to death a homeless man in Fullerton. The public was outraged at the killing and such outrage may be the most important factor in driving the many changes needed with regard to the nation's overpaid and under-accountable public sector, especially in union-controlled states such as California.
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