Comments on: Getting Their Acts Straight

By: liquidpremium

liquidpremium — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 18:26:46 +0000

I appreciat Mr. Humphrey’s attitude, but I must draw a distinction between the police and the fire department. Whether it’s a matter of what type of personality is attracted to the work in the first place or not, in my personal experience the fire department is almost always friendly towards the public and the LAPD is hostile to the public and treats all citizens as if they are John Dillinger.

By: Brian Humphrey

Brian Humphrey — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 13:32:00 +0000

This is an interesting thread that I’d like to chime in on sometime in the future with anecdotes that will make you understand why external relations at a public safety agency is considered pennance by many civil servants. :)

Sadly, I am entrenched (even in my off-duty hours from home) in helping our office recover from a genuinely catastrophic hardware failure.

As has been said in other threads, often times the truth lies somewhere ‘in the middle’. Such may be the case here?

Again, thanks for the interesting thread and for your collective involvement in civic affairs.

Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer **
Los Angeles Fire Department

** “Last To Know, First To Be Asked”

By: liquidpremium

liquidpremium — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 21:08:53 +0000

This is especially bogus since no LAPD desk officer has a clue what the CPRA or FOIA are.
I think those journalism students ought to write a version of “Roger & Me” about how difficult it was for them to get any straight answers.

By: db

db — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 20:50:45 +0000

I especially like how the chief acknowledges that “access be immediate and allowed at all times”. But apparently not if, you know, somebody has to actually go and get the requested file. And while the Chief seems to say it’s okay to deny “immediate” access in favor of “prompt” access, he doesn’t seem to offer any reason why none of the students were provided the requested file. Additionally, he doesn’t say why some students were apparently incorrectly told they didn’t have a right to see the file. Instead he says nobody should expect the desk officer to “drop everything when a student walks in” asking for a file they are entitled to see.

By: David Markland

David Markland — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 20:15:52 +0000

I like Bratton because he’s usually no bullshit guy. But in this instance, he’s encouraging the LAPD to bullshit the populace.

The larger problem here is that upon reading the CPRA, it appears that the LAPD has been deliberately violating the law. No where in the language does it cite that the public needs to mention the CPRA as a condition to receive information. While it does point out that the public agencies need to assist people with the proper formalities to receive said info.

http://www.cfac.org/Law/CPRA/Text/cpra_text.html