CHIEF REJECTS PHILLY FLAP RACE NOT ISSUE, PARKS CONTENDS.Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer Police Chief Bernard C. Parks Bernard Parks (born December 7, 1943 in Beaumont, Texas) is a member of the Los Angeles City Council, representing the 8th District in South Los Angeles and former Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. Parks attended Los Angeles City College, received his B.S. said Tuesday that he supported the actions of LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. officers who accused a top aide of Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street of jaywalking jay·walk intr.v. jay·walked, jay·walk·ing, jay·walks To cross a street illegally or in a reckless manner. [From jay2, inexperienced person. and stopped him Friday. ``There are rules that we follow, and our officers were doing an enforcement activity which we support,'' Parks said. Parks said he told Street that different rules may apply in different cities, and that pedestrian A pedestrian is a person travelling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case historically. History Walking is the primary means of human locomotion. violations are the No. 1 cause of death in traffic cases in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . ``He wanted to relate the circumstances of how this would be handled in Philadelphia,'' Parks said. ``We advised him this was not Philadelphia.'' Street noted that everyone in the Philadelphia party was African- American and the officers were white, and Street spokeswoman Barbara Grant said white officers should have recognized that the situation was fairly sensitive. ``They brought (the race issue) up,'' LAPD spokesman Lt. Horace Frank said. ``It's not an issue with us. The officers are paid to enforce the law not based on their color.'' Parks and Frank said race had nothing to do with it when officers detained de·tain tr.v. de·tained, de·tain·ing, de·tains 1. To keep from proceeding; delay or retard. 2. To keep in custody or temporary confinement: Philadelphia mayor's aide Shawn Fordham for more than an hour. Grant said Street was not arguing about whether Fordham should have been given a ticket. He was frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: by the amount of time the officers kept Fordham at the scene, she said. Frank said it is standard procedure to verify a suspect's identification. He said Street asked to speak to a high-ranking officer and eventually talked to Parks. A lieutenant and later a captain came to the location, but that did not seem to satisfy Street and he asked to speak with the chief, said Frank. Grant said that after about an hour, Street approached the officers and asked to speak with a higher ranking officer. Parks eventually spoke to Street via telephone. ``(Street) at that point was upset and indicated that this is not something that would have happened in Philadelphia,'' Grant said. On Monday, Parks said he told Street that Los Angeles rules differ from Philadelphia's. ``We advised him that this was not Philadelphia. There are rules that we follow, and our officers were doing an enforcement.'' Frank said a pedestrian was at fault when 134 people were seriously injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. or killed in traffic in 1999 in Los Angeles. Wire Services contributed to this story. |
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