Just another scorching Sunday in the empire

Riverside has like the rest of the Inland Empire been caught in the grip of a heat wave which has deftly combined intense heat with the touch of humidity that usually visits this time of year. It's advised for everyone by the National Weather Service to drink plenty of fluids, wear light-colored, loose clothing and stay indoors.

So far, the city's utility system is holding up and there's been no power outages reported yet in any neighborhood in Riverside. Contrast that with last June when the power was constantly going out in several neighborhoods, due to the city's aging and in fact ancient, infrastructure involving its electrical systems.

Still, heat waves and electrical systems in terms of the high use of air conditioners do not mix well, so keep your flashlights handy just in case.

Riverside Renaissance does include some utility projects but there has to be quite a bit spent to keep up with development and given that the city will probably be broke within the next couple of years, it's best to do your asking for money now rather than later.




Riverside is bringing the internet to its borders, according to the Press Enterprise along with some cautions on using it. It's going to be provided by AT&T Communications and is pretty much serving as advertising for its faster connection services which will cause subscribers money.



Another slow day in Los Angeles with more attention focused on the mayor's girlfriend than anything else going on there. The latest is, that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's girlfriend, Mirthala Salinas, a news anchor with Telemundo has been placed on administrative leave according to the Los Angeles Times.


(excerpt)



Given the seriousness of the allegations that have been made, we have decided to conduct an internal review of the decisions and events that led us to where we are today," said Manuel Abud, vice president and general manager of KVEA-TV. "In the meantime, Mirthala Salinas has been placed on a leave of absence from her duties pending this review. We will conduct this investigation with the utmost respect to personal privacy and journalistic standards."

Salinas, 35, defended her actions through a spokeswoman, voicing confidence that the internal probe would clear her of any ethical lapses.

"I welcome Telemundo's decision to conduct a comprehensive review of the matter and respect their desire that I allow the review to be completed before returning to work," she said in a statement. "I will cooperate with the station and appreciate their commitment to undertaking a thorough review of this situation. I am confident that when all the facts are analyzed it will be clear that I conducted myself in an appropriate way."



Well, it's true that here lies a conflict of interest situation even though Salinas said that she had notified her employers of her relationship with the mayor and had asked to be taken off of stories dealing with him. It's also true that relationship or no relationship, there definitely is already a marriage between local city governments and the media who cover them. There was definitely times during Election 2007, round one when I was reading coverage by the local newspaper that made me wonder.




According to the New York Daily News, Police commissioner Ray Kelly of the New York City Police Department has enacted new rules in terms of how much alcohol police officers can consume while working undercover.

In addition, sobriety tests will be given to police officers involved in onduty shootings.


A list of changes were implemented in the wake of the controversial 2006 fatal shooting of Sean Bell. Three NYPD officers were indicted on criminal charges earlier this year by a grand jury in relation to that shooting.


(excerpt)


"There's no more dangerous assignment in policing than undercover work," Kelly said, praising the committee for its recommendations "to make undercover operations the safest possible for the police and public alike."

Bell's family called for mandatory alcohol testing after it was revealed that one of the undercover officers, who did not fire, had drunk two bottles of Heineken during the undercover operation.

Bell's family was equally outraged when toxicology reports leaked to the press revealed that Bell, 23, was legally intoxicated the night he was killed, yet no tests were taken of the officers involved. Two officers were charged with manslaughter in the Bell shooting, and a third was charged with a misdemeanor.

The Rev. Al Sharpton called the proposed change "a small step toward justice as a result of the Sean Bell tragedy."





A committee convened to create and implement recommendations involving how the police department conducts business with its undercover divisions had some suggestions which it presented at its completion.


(excerpt)



NYPD review done after the Sean Bell shooting has recommended 20 changes to the way undercover cops operate. Among them are:


Sobriety tests for cops who fire their weapons and kill or maim.

Psychological screening to become an undercover, and counseling for current undercover officers.

Training in staying in character from professional actors.

Opening undercover positions to cops with less than two years of experience.

Lights and sirens in unmarked cars.

A standard jacket for officers to use in plainclothes operations.

Making sure all undercovers know that there is a two-drink maximum per tour and provide training to avoid drinking altogether.




Both Nichole Paultre-Bell and one of the NYPD's labor unions gave their reactions to the rule changes in this New York Daily News article.






Creative Loafing is a blog about Atlanta, Georgia and has a section on that city's police department. A lot going on there in the wake of a corruption scandal involving the department's narcotics division in the wake of the fatal shooting of Kathryn Johnston, 92, and the near shooting of Frances Thompson, 80, in their own homes.

Last May, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Coyers and other members had written a letter to the U.S. Attorney General's office regarding the Johnston killing and its aftermath. The letter included the following questions.



(excerpt)


Will the investigation include an examination of the policies and procedures of the Atlanta Police Department regarding confidential informants?

Are there adequate guidelines in place to prevent the misuse of confidential informants?

Will there be a review of prior cases to determine whether there have been other incidences involving the misuse of confidential informants and the information supplied by such informants?

Will there be an assessment of pattern and practice abuses resulting in civil rights violations by the department?

Will the investigation include an evaluation of whether the issues identified with the use of confidential informants in the Johnston case reflect a national trend among other law enforcement agencies?

What role do the federal guidelines on confidential informants play in shaping local policy?


It's not clear when these questions will be answered and in what form.




Columnist Van Jones wrote an interesting article on the failure of S.B. 1019 to get out of committee at the California State Assembly last week.

Interestingly enough, while nearly all of the opponents of the bill were law enforcement or public employee unions, one police union did break ranks with this group.

And what union was that?

The National Black Police Association endorsed S.B. 1019


(excerpt)


In fact, the Copley Press decision had nothing to do with officer safety or operational security. The Court's 42-page opinion does not once mention either of these issues. Nor do the extensive briefs and pleadings of the plaintiff police unions to the Court.

Finally, SB 1019 contains specific provisions that allow for records to be kept confidential if a police chief or sheriff certifies that their release is likely to compromise officer safety or operational security. The fact that the police unions have rejected this provision clearly shows that their safety and security concerns are completely bogus.

Despite repeated invitations by Senator Romero, they have not proposed a single amendment of their own to address these supposedly crucial issues. The truth is that the police unions are not interested in public accountability plus protection. They are not interested in public accountability at all. Period. End of discussion.

It is important to note, however, that the national black officers' union, the Black Police Association, has endorsed SB 1019. It is reasonable to assume that these officers have no interest in putting officer safety or operational security at risk. They do, however, know all about racism and its insidious effects.

It is no accident that in California, the jurisdictions that have opted to establish open and public mechanisms of citizen oversight are all major urban centers with large minority populations. There is overwhelming evidence that these are the communities most affected by officer misconduct and, for that reason, the most distrustful of police.




It shouldn't be surprising that once again, it's a Black police union that supports an accountability measure. Whether it's Black Cops Against Police Brutality, 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care and NOBLE, these organizations are usually the only ones who support or even promote police accountability in terms of civilian oversight, reform processes and transparency of police investigations. Sgt. DeLacy Davis of the East Orange Police Department wrote a book on an action plan to deal with police abuse and corruption.

Maybe it's because when it comes to the police culture that favors White male officers, everyone else is considered an outsider. Or maybe it's because Black law enforcement officers who are off-duty or working in undercover assignments have been victims of racial profiling stops, excessive force and lethal shootings including those in Los Angeles, Providence, Rhode Island and Oakland, California.

Maybe all these experiences and the laundry list of civil litigation they have filed regarding racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation make them skeptics in some sense regarding others in their own profession.

At any rate, the support by the national association that represents many Black police officers is an interesting development as it always is in situations like this one.


Jones chastised the head of the assembly public safety committee, Fabian Nunez by stating that Nunez had criticized the Los Angeles Police Department's actions during the May Day incident in MacArthur Park when over 60 officers in riot gear had charged into the park, hitting dozens of peacefully assembled people with their batons and shooting over 160 less lethal bullets at them.

However, once the cameras disappeared, Nunez chose to oppose S.B. 1019 which would have provided more accountability during incidents like that involving the LAPD.

The bill is due back sooner probably than later though the police union leaderships have told their members that they expect to see it back next year at the earliest.


Last March, the Associated Students of the University of California, Berkeley approved a resolution supporting S.B. 1019 and its assembly counterpart. The Libertarian Party of California had also voiced its support of the bill.


(excerpt)


Kevin Takenaga, chair of the Libertarian Party of California, issued the following statement:

"While employee records should be protected by some measure of confidentiality, it is clearly more important in the case of government employees in general, and police in particular, to allow limited public examination of records, including charges of misconduct.

"The Libertarian Party of California supports the hard work and dedication of law enforcement officers in the state. Nevertheless, taxpayers are forced by government to pay the salary of law enforcement personnel. Therefore, it is only appropriate that they have a means to scrutinize the relatively few, but important, police misconduct and disciplinary issues that unfortunately arise from time to time.




Another on the very diverse list of supporters for S. B. 1019.