Should I use my press pass as a napkin, toilet paper, or bird cage liner?
This is what I asked myself after watching footage of Los Angeles Police Department officers hitting reporters with batons and firing riot guns during last week’s May Day immigration rallies.
Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton issued a public apology Sunday for LAPD’s actions during the rallies.
Silly Bratton, forgetting to consider explanations other than reckless abuse of power for LAPD’s actions, like the possibility that the people dressed in riot gear and wielding batons were actually police impersonators. Or maybe the incident never even happened and was a result of some conspiracy, like the 1969 moon landing.
Yet I still cannot help but worry about LAPD’s recent penchant for assaulting reporters. Daily Bruin Assistant News Editor Anthony Pesce was hit in the chest with a baton by an LAPD officer in December while attempting to report on a couch fire in Westwood that occurred after UCLA’s football victory over USC, according to the Daily Bruin.
This occurred after Pesce presented his press pass to the officers. A press pass usually protects members of the media from excessive interference from the police when covering breaking news.
When Managing Editor Melinda Dudley attempted to show officers her press pass to remain on the scene, an officer told her that “it doesn’t mean shit.”
In all fairness to the officers, however, they were probably just attempting to prepare Pesce and Dudley for their future journalism careers. Lt. Paul Vernon of the LAPD told the Daily Bruin he could not comment on the still continuing investigation.
Although Bratton’s apology and his promises to retrain 60 officers and move forward with disciplinary actions seem well-intentioned, additional actions must be taken.
When officers put on their masks and uniforms, they are nearly indistinguishable from one another. According to the Daily Bruin, LAPD investigators told Pesce that part of their investigation hinged upon whether or not the officer who hit him could be identified ““ which is highly unlikely.
Solution: Every riot helmet should have a bright yellow number printed on it that is unique to its wearer. This will allow officers who do abuse their power to be more easily identified so their victims can report them individually to the department.
This would increase the amount of personal responsibility officers feel when they are making decisions about whether or not to baton reporters like Patricio Nazario, from radio station KPCC FM, who was hit so hard she fell to the ground, according to the Los Angeles Times.
You could argue that such a policy would cause officers to hesitate when confronted with a situation that justifiably calls for some baton swinging and riot gun action, but this vastly underestimates the capabilities of LAPD’s officers. If we can expect doctors, lawyers and politicians to perform their jobs knowing that they must take personal responsibility for their mistakes, I don’t see why police officers should be treated any differently.
If you don’t happen to be a reporter or protestor, you’re still affected by this problem. LAPD paid out more than $4 million dollars to settle lawsuits filed by reporters and protestors who felt their civil rights were violated during the 2000 Democratic Convention in Los Angeles.
This money doesn’t come from the salaries of the individual officers who acted improperly ““ it comes from our (the taxpayers’) pockets.
Maria Ramirez, a fourth-year English student who attended the May Day rally, told me over the phone that she “never heard a warning” before officers began firing their riot guns, and an officer shoved her down to the ground “like a piece of trash.”
“How (was) I supposed to stay safe?” she asked.
Until Bratton changes the LAPD’s policy in addition to taking disciplinary actions, I’d have to say the answer to that question ““ for those who find themselves in the middle of a crowd ““ is to stay far away from the LAPD.
Need some scratch paper? E-mail Strickland and ask for her press pass at kstrickland@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.