Posted on 02/18/2005 9:50:15 AM PST by Ramonan
Already strapped for resources, the Los Angeles Police Department does not have the money to provide the extensive training required by its new policy barring officers from shooting at moving vehicles, officials said Thursday.
In adopting the policy Wednesday in response to the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Devin Brown, the Police Commission acknowledged that the success or failure of the new policy rests on training.
But Assistant Chief Sharon Papa, who is in charge of training and other support services, said it will be costly to train all 9,100 sworn officers, starting with the 3,400 patrol officers who are most likely to be involved in pursuits, or other encounters involving vehicles.
"There's no way we can do this within the existing budget," Papa said. "We'll have to go to the council."
Los Angeles Police Protective League President Bob Baker -- whose union argued that the old policy that "generally prohibited" firing at moving vehicles was adequate -- said officers are becoming increasingly vulnerable as policies are enacted that limit the use of different kinds of force without adequate training in how to remain safe without them.
Computer simulators, such as those at the Davis Training Facility in Granada Hills, likely will be a staple of the training. More, and better simulators are needed, and could be transported to the bureaus for training there, she said.
The "virtual" training not only simulates real field situations, she said, but avoids the "inherently dangerous" scenario of a real car driven toward an officer.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailynews.com ...
Could you come up with a policy that is any more anti-cop than this one? I think many of "LA's finest" will be moving on.
Can't they just seize and sell some more civilian assets? C'mon guys, get on the ball !!
/sarcasm
blame falls on the LA city council they will not fund more $$$ for more cops.
No ,but they can afford all their diversity crap.
whatever happened to good ole "on the job" training? The best way to learn how to do anything is to just do it! Screw the simulators!
How much does it cost to tell a cop - don't shoot at a moving car?
I bet they have plenty of money to pay all the retirement benefits - we pay more to people not to work then to work.
What's interesting about the problems at the LAPD is that they may finally validate Guliani's decision when Mayor to dump Bratton as NYPD commissioner..
they would have plenty of money to train if they did away with about 1/2 the paper pushers in the department.
of course we are talking about LA-LA land here.
I was born in 1957 to a lower middle class family, my father was in the Army. I grew up and Army brat and now in my late 40's I am in the middle-upper-class, have three children and living a life of hard work.
Last night was my daughers birthday, we were on our way out to dinner and one of my daughter friends made a comment and for the first time in my life I told her to never call a cop.
All my life I have always told my children to call a cop for help until last night. Now I view the police as union thugs only caring about themselves and putting the public last.
It is pretty sad really. I never thought I would see this day.
Wow. I hope you never REALLY need one.
This policy is an adaptation of one already existing in Boston (where Bratton used to be commissioner). The purpose here is to avoid indemnification of the officer who fires his or her weapon at or into a moving vehicle, which often costs a city huge amounts in legal settlements. If a policy like this is in place, the responsibility is shifted to the officer as an individual, rather than the municipality, with its deep pockets. Thus, the city can avoid liability for damages if someone like this kid (who is probably as big as a coke machine) is shot.
Thats my question exactly? Just print out the order and have them initial it.
Better yet they could save a lot of money if they just took all the guns away from the cops and sold them. Then the criminals would have access to cheap weapons and no one else would get shot by a police officer.
I thought the shooting of the 13 year old was a good shooting, so they killed the criminal before he had a chance to make a bigger record than he already had.Whats the downside of that?
This issue prove bill crosby right. Blacks have shifted the responsibility from the black criminal to the officers and the government will not hold them accountable.
A criminal tried to kill a cop with a car and its the cops fault - but their union will not fight it so we as a society willl pay the price hence my previous comments.
The cop may just have to duck.
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