If You Expect Nothing From The LA Police Commission –THEY WILL DELIVER!

On February 24th, the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition delivered a letter to the LA Board of Police Commissioners demanding a response from the commission on their failure to effectively respond and take corrective action on matters of grave concern to the community. The Commission responded on March 3rd and once again dismissed these concerns, stating that no action was to be taken since the commission is satisfied how LAPD conducts its business.

Following are some of the recent examples highlighted in the letter signifying the commission’s failure to listen and act upon Los Angeles communities’ concerns:

Increased militarization with acquisition of Drones. Repeatedly Chief Beck and the Commission were publicly exposed Misrepresenting and Lying.

Sabotaging “corrective actions” taken by the department in response to the Federal Consent Decree.

The Police Commission was given two weeks to respond to the following demands:

We demand that the LAPD rescind the SAR program with immediate effect including terminating the iWATCH – See Something, Say Something program.

We further demand that the commission launch full investigative hearings and fact finding on the violation of human and civil rights of people of Los Angeles resulting from these programs.

We demand an immediate halt of the launching of the body camera use by LAPD.

We demand a thorough investigation into the decision making process on the acquisition and financial transactions involved in this program.

We demand real public hearings with full participation for community members to present their research, analysis, and perspectives against the use of body cameras by LAPD.

We reject the proposed use of Drones by LAPD;

We demand that LAPD destroy the drones or give them back to the manufacturer;

We demand full public hearings on the militarization of LAPD and relinquish the control of such public hearings to the community;

We demand full investigative public hearings of LAPD conspiracy and officer violation of department policies.

We demand the commission to immediately send a detailed report to the Department of Justice and US District Court Judge Gary Feess informing them of violations of conditions and intent of the federal consent decree.

Angelenos are frustrated, angry, and disillusioned by the façade of civilian oversight and bodies such as the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners. This Body Needs to Be Exposed And Confronted.

Join us! TuesdayMarch 10th at 8:30pm for a Rally and Press Conference at the LAPD Police Commission to expose and denounce their failure and dismissiveness of community concerns.

Attrition Through Enforcement – Murder by Policy

On behalf of the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Charley Leundeu Keunang also known in his skid row community as “Africa.” Africa was murdered by LAPD on March 1st. We also share the grief, anger and frustration of skid row residents not only as they cope with another loss of a community member but also how they continue the battle against what Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) has called “The Dirty Divide.” An apartheid line between the hipsters of DownTown Los Angeles and the People of Central City East aka Skid Row.

Over the last few days the world has witnessed, again, the brutality and violence of the Los Angeles Police Department. We watched in horror- how- as many as 5 LAPD officers assaulted and killed Africa who was trying to protect himself from what can only be called a modern day lynching of a black man by the state. The following day we again witnessed the tazering and brutal take down of another Skid row resident.These acts of brutality, violence and murders by law enforcement are not isolated incidents, they are a part and parcel of these institutions by design.

We Believe Our Eyes, Not Their Lies! Charlie Beck and his cronies on the LAPD Police Commission can produce all the grainy stills and jammed weapons they want, but we all saw the video of an unarmed man shot as he lay tazered and prostrate on the sidewalk. They tell us to wait, they tell us to be patient. In the meantime, another life is taken, another voice cut short by the brutality and viciousness of the LAPD. Over six hundred lives have been taken by police agencies in the Los Angeles area in the last 15 years–lives that are overwhelmingly those of color.

But it’d be folly to believe and conclude that this trail of blood stops at the hands of poorly trained cops, rookies, or some “bad apples.” No, Africa’s blood stains the hands of the highest echelons of this city’s government. It’s a failure of our elected leaders to reign in a department which eats over half the city’s resources. It’s the failure of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, and their president–Steve Soboroff–whose failure to provide leadership in representing the best interest of Angelenos makes sure that Charlie Beck’s department is left un-leashed and to it’s own devices at every turn. This was not just a murder by a few bad apples in blue, but a murder by policy. Policies like the Safer Cities Initiative only pump more trigger happy cops into the Skid Row area. A failure of policies like Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR), iWATCH, Predictive Policing, and many other programs which create a climate of fear and suspicion making us all suspects and criminals in the eyes of the state and each other. Technological fixes like body-cameras, or superficial changes like more diverse cops and trainings will not end police violence or state-sanctioned impunity. There is a whole superstructure of policies and protocols which must be confronted and dismantled if we’re to ever end the unhinged murder of community members by police officers.

Sign the Petition/ Fill out Community SurveyDrone Free- LAPD/ No Drones, LA!

The Drone-Free LAPD/No Drones, LA Campaign is currently working to collect thousands of signatures on paper and online. Please sign thepetition online and also send it to your friends!

This is how counter-terrorism programs get promoted by the same groups that brought us SAR, iWATCH, Predictive Policing etc. and get incorporated into Domestic/local policing. Now its Countering Violent Extremism, another shady name for a program that’ll end up on the streets with more state violence against our communities. Shame on them!