`AND WHEN MORALE IS UP, ALL OFFICERS WORK HARDER' : LAPD RECAPTURES PUBLIC'S RESPECT CITYWIDE.Byline: Dennis McCarthy Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
In this town of second, third and last chances, it's been great this week to see the often-maligned Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . get a new chance to reclaim all of this city's respect and admiration. It's been a rocky road for six years in public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most for the LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. since the Rodney King Rodney Glen King (born April 9, 1965 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an African-American taxicab driver who was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department officers (Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno and Sargent Stacey Koon) after being chased for speeding. beating and the subsequent L.A. riots. Police brass - not the rank and file - screwed up big time by not responding immediately to the looting and beatings after a Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. jury returned not-guilty verdicts in the first King trial. Both of those low-water marks for the department were caught in the camera's eye, authentic and unadulterated un·a·dul·ter·at·ed adj. 1. Not mingled or diluted with extraneous matter; pure. See Synonyms at pure. 2. Out-and-out; utter: the unadulterated truth. - just like Friday's incredible shootout Shootout Venture capital jargon. Refers to two or more venture capital firms fighting for the startup. at a North Hollywood branch of the Bank of America
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC TYO: 8648 ) is the largest commercial bank in the United States in terms of deposits, and the largest company of its kind in the world. . There was no chance for anyone to scream ``Media bias.'' No chance to color the picture or edit something out. What you saw on live TV - King's beating was on videotape - was what you got. You decided what you were seeing and feeling, free from any outside influence. Six years ago, a big part of this city looked at TV in stunned silence and decided the LAPD had some pretty big problems with heavy-handed cops. A year later, viewers decided there were big problems with slow-moving brass. Friday morning, a big part of this city looked at TV again in stunned silence - and saw a completely different picture: a Police Department they could be proud of. Outgunned street cops going up against an arsenal of high-power weaponry to foil a bank robbery and save lives - citizens' lives, cops' lives. It was an eye-opener for those who doubted the cops' commitment, a confirmation for others who have always backed them. For the men and women who wear the uniform, it was a chance to vent some strong feelings and anger, particularly at the media - and a chance to say thanks to all the people in this town who support, not second-guess, them. As former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda once said when being questioned on a decision that backfired: ``Hey, this job ain't that bleeping bleep n. A brief high-pitched sound, as from an electronic device. v. bleeped, bleep·ing, bleeps v.intr. To emit a bleep or bleeps. v.tr. easy.'' Being a cop in L.A. - where decisions have to be made in a split second, and just about everyone is second-guessing them - ain't that bleeping easy, either. ``It's funny how people's opinions about the police are often based on what they read in the newspaper or hear on TV,'' said veteran Officer Ken Montague, a member of the department's elite SWAT team which was involved in the shootout Friday. ``People can condemn and badmouth us, but when they see on live TV, in real life, the situations we sometimes have to contend with out there, it's funny how their opinion of us changes.'' His words carry a bitterness that permeates the rank and file of the LAPD these days, a belief that the media in this town aren't giving people the whole story. ``In the 20 years I've been on the force, I've seen the media interview eight people, and the ninth one will say something negative about the department - that's the guy who gets quoted on TV or in the paper the next morning,'' Montague said. ``Here, though, people saw for themselves on live TV the job we had to do, and the conditions we did it under. They saw our professionalism and commitment. ``Now we've got people coming up to us in restaurants, apologizing for interrupting our meal, to tell us they just wanted to say thanks for the job we're doing. ``It's been really nice to hear all the nice comments. When all you're used to getting are negative comments about the department, sometimes you feel like you can't wait to retire. ``I feel bad for the patrol officers because they're the ones who take the brunt of the negativism negativism /neg·a·tiv·ism/ (neg´ah-ti-vizm?) opposition to suggestion or advice; behavior opposite to that appropriate to a specific situation or against the wishes of others, including direct resistance to efforts to be moved. . They deserve praise, and, thank God, they're finally getting it. ``The positive feedback will definitely help raise morale in the department. And when morale is up, all police officers work harder. ``But morale is a word that the politicians in this town dAon't know about,'' Montague said, taking one last shot. In a city of second, third and last chances, it's the LAPD's chance again to let off some steam, reclaim some respect, and set the record straight on the way the cops see it. The camera never lies. |
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