The Dumbing-Down of SWAT
It is extremely disturbing to know that the next time a vulnerable Los Angeleno's life hangs in the balance between an armed homicidal lunatic and the LAPD's elite special incident unit, whether the victim lives or dies might not rest in the hands of the best Special Weapons and Tactic officers available.
A chilling investigative report in Sunday's Fishwrap of Mention details how a Bratton-ordered investigative panel tasked with examining the tactics of the officers involved in the death of Suzie Peña -- the first and only hostage lost in SWAT's 35 year history -- was completely distorted, ending instead in the effective dumbing down of SWAT candidate qualifications supposedly aimed at bringing more women and minorities into the unit.
Bratton is quoted as telling the panel "...I'm looking to create change within SWAT... There are no women and few African Americans.... " Like good soldiers, the panel's final report states: "The absence of women ... and the low number of African Americans in SWAT should be addressed and dealt with, and the membership of SWAT should be reflective of the community."
In response to the panel's findings, the LAPD has reduced SWAT candidate qualifications to a physical fitness test similar to the Police Academy's admission requirement and an oral interview conducted by non-SWAT LAPD and City civilian administrators. Lots of people qualify for the Police Academy including a lot who cannot deal with the stress of police situations. Hell, even I can pass the Academy physical fitness requirement.
You know, when a lunatic has a gun pointed to my head I sure as hell don't want to rely on LA City beaurocrats to have selected my rescuers. And quite honestly, women and minorities should be pissed as all get-out that the LAPD feels dumbing down qualifications is the only way they can qualify.
So why would Bratton effectively sabotage the SWAT unit? It makes you wonder -- while we're saddled with a huge budget crunch because the City Council has a collective spending disorder, Villaraigosa is beyond obsessed with his struggle to actually fulfill one of his campaign promises to hire 1000 new LAPD officers and simultaneously there is a dramatic rise in gang violence, leading to what looks like an awfully convenient-for-Antonio need for more officers. Simply coincidence, or have other units in the LAPD been previously 'restructured' in similar fashion to SWAT?
A chilling investigative report in Sunday's Fishwrap of Mention details how a Bratton-ordered investigative panel tasked with examining the tactics of the officers involved in the death of Suzie Peña -- the first and only hostage lost in SWAT's 35 year history -- was completely distorted, ending instead in the effective dumbing down of SWAT candidate qualifications supposedly aimed at bringing more women and minorities into the unit.
Bratton is quoted as telling the panel "...I'm looking to create change within SWAT... There are no women and few African Americans.... " Like good soldiers, the panel's final report states: "The absence of women ... and the low number of African Americans in SWAT should be addressed and dealt with, and the membership of SWAT should be reflective of the community."
In response to the panel's findings, the LAPD has reduced SWAT candidate qualifications to a physical fitness test similar to the Police Academy's admission requirement and an oral interview conducted by non-SWAT LAPD and City civilian administrators. Lots of people qualify for the Police Academy including a lot who cannot deal with the stress of police situations. Hell, even I can pass the Academy physical fitness requirement.
You know, when a lunatic has a gun pointed to my head I sure as hell don't want to rely on LA City beaurocrats to have selected my rescuers. And quite honestly, women and minorities should be pissed as all get-out that the LAPD feels dumbing down qualifications is the only way they can qualify.
So why would Bratton effectively sabotage the SWAT unit? It makes you wonder -- while we're saddled with a huge budget crunch because the City Council has a collective spending disorder, Villaraigosa is beyond obsessed with his struggle to actually fulfill one of his campaign promises to hire 1000 new LAPD officers and simultaneously there is a dramatic rise in gang violence, leading to what looks like an awfully convenient-for-Antonio need for more officers. Simply coincidence, or have other units in the LAPD been previously 'restructured' in similar fashion to SWAT?
Labels: chief william bratton, lapd, mayor antonio villaraigosa, SWAT, villaraigosa
Posted by Anonymous @ 3/17/2008 03:13:00 PM
17 Comments:
Why would Bratton sabotage SWAT? Besides orders from the Mayor and the Hispanics on one side, and feministas like Jackie Goldberg, Chick, on the other? And something to do with the Consent Degree, maybe?
Of course this crap about choosing "people who look like us" is just that. It's as racist as people who say they're voting for Obama "because he looks like America," then calling Ferraro racist for just stating facts, that his race is a plus at this point in time.
Latinos are already a majority on the LAPD.
LAFD has it even worse with the quotas -- women who can't carry the ladders and equipment, and can barely get through boot camp (it's tougher than for cops) then sue the city for injuries or being "made fun of" by guys who resent them for their special treatment.
It's the feministas who demand bigger percentages regardless of ability, which only means the women set themselves up for failure. Some guys are body and talent- specific, like being a basketball player or a gymnast.
I don't know Petrafried one has to ask the question "why isn't there any women and few non whites in Swat?
As far as your "dumbing down" claim I would ask what the hell your talking about?
I used to hear this same plaintive wail from the LAPD and LAFD years ago when racist and gender biased spokesman would use the same excuse, namely that any interference or oversight into hiring practices (height,race, gender ect) would lower standards and cause many veteran LAPD and LAFD veterans to quit in protest.
And the so called "Oral Exams" conducted by racially motivated officials of the LAPD and FD were an unmitigated example of the exclusive designation of like minded and like skinned recruits, at the expense of qualified yet not quite the good ol boy prototype, system that existed for many years and resulted in an almost all white male police and fire departments.
Used to hear all the old pissed off cops and fireman complaining about "cunts and runts and jigaboo's" but not many retired as a consequence.
Pardon my suspicion
If shooting true is no longer going to be an important factor in choosing a SWAT team member I can see a lot more lawsuits in the future if a "good guy" gets shots by a SWAT member. Who will be the one to blame for that? The Mayor and Bratton (who is even more at fault because he should know better).
So Hogan's alley is no longer necessary. Guess what the Army used to think that small arms training was not the important either. Then IRAQ came along and showed that accurate shooting is of great importance in doing the job.
Well, I have told my friends that I am glad I am not a Cop anymore, I am retired. With all of this political correctness going on with my luck I would get teamed up with a 5 foot female who can barely drag around her gear much less pull a 190 pound partner out of a mess.
I don't mind having women in the force, but hey let's not relax the standards so that physical strengh does not matter. It mattered 30 years ago and it matters now.
Hopefully, this affirmative action caused by the decree can be stopped before someone gets killed.
Don Quixote the racist (xenophobe of Blacks) says..
"I used to hear this same plaintive wail from the LAPD and LAFD years ago when racist and gender biased spokesman would use the same excuse, namely that any interference or oversight into hiring practices (height,race, gender ect) would lower standards and cause many veteran LAPD and LAFD veterans to quit in protest."
**********************************
And speaking of “Dumbing Down” and racism, this blog should mitigate dumb, old cholo racists who refer to blacks as “Mayates” and constantly use words such as xenophobe and vitriol but can't spell "etc".
Don Q. the racist speaks about jigaboos.....
”A couple of times on this blog I have heard people say that the Chicanos created the Eme to protect themselves from the gavachos or mayates in the joint, thats bullshit, they created Eme not only for strenth but for business and control. A man like Truck never feared nobody,he was by far the baddest,toughest,motherfuckerI ever knew. He was always in shape even as he got older, him and my jefito used to do roadwork and train like boxer's all the time. Once at the factory we worked at (he always had a job so as to look legitimate to LE), everyone was in the lunchroom eating and in comes this big Mayate who worked in shipping,and he starts talking shit about Mexicans this and they ain't shit etc; and this was a big Mayate 6'4", 275lbs. who used to carry a 100 lb. sack of produce under each arm. He didn't notice Truck sitting at the end of the table peeling an apple with the straight razor he always carried. Anyway the Mayate looks his way and I can see the fear in this Suede's eyes and Truck tells him real cool, "Hey you fucking nigger, you think your tough?”
7:26 sounds like a great story keep it coming
I don't know 7:26, lots of vitriol and jerry curyl activator in your post
I think we need to mitigate all this vile and vitriolistic xenophobic comments by the old cholo, who calls blacks mayates.
This xenophobic racism has not allowed the hard working African Americans to move into East Los Angeles, Highland Park, Boyle Heights and Glassel park. We need the African Americans to be a larger part of the diversity of East amd North East Los Angeles. I would love to see soul food and pirated rap music sold in North East Los Angeles. We need to embrace our African American brothers, and enjoy all their culture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qutULJOOEU
Whew! The video was full of vitriol and vile racism, lots of activater opps I mean activism too!
bratton is a politician that is why he wants this. it is politically correct. this is different than LAFD lowering their physical requirements dept wide. LAPD did that years ago but SWAT is the elite division. It is the Navy Seals of law enforcement. When the patrol cop gets in trouble he needs to be able to call someone capable of doing what he was unable to do. That person needs to be uniquely qualified. As of now when patrol gets in over their head they call SWAT. Because they know they will get the best of the best. If they aren't what is the point of having a SWAT team?
Mr. Quixote, it's this kind of self-obsessive, whine-y "poor me" bullsh*t that embarasses the rest of us 'women and minorities'.
Moving on, I'd like to direct people to this link for an op/ed from a longtime female LAPD officer on this issue. It's enlightening.
http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/lapd_swat_and_affirmative_action_a_woman_officers_view.php
Here is the text:
LAPD SWAT And Affirmative Action -
A Woman Officer's View
by Armed Liberal at
March 17, 2008 10:56 PM
This was sent by an anonymous friend in response to an LA Times editorial on SWAT and affirmative action:
I am a police supervisor in Southern California. I have been in law enforcement for over twenty five years. I am female.
In Sunday's Los Angeles Times Opinion section, Robert C. J. Parry, exposes the results of a board of inquiry commissioned by Chief of Police Bill Bratton to look into the only hostage death in LAPD SWAT's 35 year history.
"When Pena retreated to his office, four SWAT officers crossed the alley in a matter of seconds, entered the building, took fire through the walls -- fire that struck one officer -- and entered Pena's office. There, they exchanged more shots with the gunman, who was standing behind a desk with Suzie. In the chaos, both Jose and Suzie Pena were killed.
It is important, in the aftermath of this kind of tragedy to review the actions of the involved officers for ways to improve tactics, etc and try to prevent a recurrence and that was the chief's stated goal in this inquiry. Unfortunately, that is not what he told his team.
"In November 2005, he (Chief Bratton) privately addressed the board about his goals for their inquiry. The final report quotes him: "I'm looking to create change within SWAT. The qualifications to get in are stringent. But are they too stringent? There are no women and few African Americans.... Are there artificial barriers for getting into SWAT that the 'good old boys' network has maintained?"
Chief Bratton it seems, along with his review team, believe that SWAT needs to be more diverse in it's membership. The Chief appointed a review board that seemed to reflect this agenda:
"None of the SWAT officers from the Pena shooting were even interviewed by the panel, according to multiple sources. Indeed, the board's eight members included fewer tactical experts (one) than attorneys (three). In its final report, the board acknowledged that it had been "ultimately precluded from gaining a full and complete understanding of what transpired in Pena until after this report was finalized."
The final report expresses the following:
"The absence of women ... and the low number of African Americans in SWAT should be addressed and dealt with, and the membership of SWAT should be reflective of the community," the report says, although it offers no qualitative or quantitative evidence that this change would save a single life or lead to a single suspect's apprehension. The unit, the report says, has become "insular, self-referential and resistant to change."
As a veteran law enforcement officer/supervisor and a woman, I have a couple of things to say about this that may be relevant.
Let me preface this with some history. When I first applied for a job in my profession, the department, I for which I ultimately worked, did not recognize the affirmative action policies that were practiced elsewhere in the county. The physical agility test included the 6' solid wall, you had to move 165 pounds of dead weight a certain distance under time and push a car in addition to running fast through an obstacle course. After acing the physical agility, and doing well in the written and oral exams, my sister and I were told that we were in line for jobs "when a female position came open." We were eventually hired, came in first and third in our academy, which included rigorous physical training and moved on to successful careers.
I have, on occasion, in my career been the beneficiary of affirmative action policies. The ethical trade off for this has been to make sure that I am overqualified for advancement or assignments that I seek. That way I am comfortable that I didn't ace out someone more qualified for the position for the sake of greater diversity. I also recognize that on occasion, these policies have leveled the playing field appropriately.
Since I came into this job there has been a consistent lowering of standards in misguided attempts to add diversity to policing and the results have been at best, mixed. First of all, if you fall into one of the favored categories, you have the unique pleasure of knowing that when you enter the job you are already stigmatized as below par because the rules were changed to get you in. You're partners will wonder if they need help on the other side of a wall you didn't have to climb to get the job, whether you can get to them. It has also resulted in some seriously substandard hires. Rafael Perez comes to mind.
The first and most important thing a person should understand when entering a 'risk' profession such as mine is their personal limitations. Failure to understand this basic rule endangers you and others from the beginning. I am a member of the rifle team and have served as a firearms instructor. However, I have not and would not apply to be a motor officer or a SWAT officer because I am too small. I know you cannot hand me the ram to take down the front door. I recognize if the motorcycle goes down, I might have trouble picking it up again. It might take me longer to get one of my partners out of the line of fire after he gets shot upon entry, when time is of the essence.
That is not to say that I don't belong in my job. I am good at it and have seen officers of all sizes, shapes, genders and colors perform the job with skill and heart. Because I recognize my limitations, I can plan to overcome them tactically in the situations I encounter. SWAT does not have this luxury. SWAT is who I call when the situation overwhelms my immediate resources. If I need them, I don't give a damn if they are 'reflective of the community' or six toed farm boys with acne, I just want them to be the best. Only the most physically capable, tactically gifted, expert shooters, with a proven ability to perform for the good of the team and the innocent victims in immediate need of their services should qualify for SWAT. If some of those super qualified candidates happen to be female, terrific, but I cannot understand, for the life of me what benefit is reached for officer or public safety by lowering standards and tweaking the process to increase the numbers of minorities and women qualifying for this unique and vital function. Chief Bratton's transparent attempt to court certain groups in this and other situations indicates a troubling willingness to endanger lives in pursuit of his personal ambitions.
Bratton should be ashamed of himself. By lowering the standards to become a SWAT officer he's putting the safety of current SWAT officers' lives at risk for the sake of his political agenda. There are hundreds of kids who want to see their dads walk through the door every night. I knew the risk my husband was taking when he joined the SWAT team 14 years ago but I would have never imagined the chief of the department would intentionally heighten that risk for his own self-serving motives.
I was at the scene where a car rammed an armored truck and shot at the truck in an attempt to rob the truck.
When the Swat team showed up at the scene, It looked like an NFL team of linebackers showed up. Every Swat member was big and in damn good shape. The Swat team went running through a large group of industrial building, some Swat members were climbinh onto roof tops. I was very impressed just watching these guys in action. I could imagine if the Swat team was short, overweight, weak or otherwise not in top physical condition.
SWAT is the big and bad of the police Department, who would want a short out of shape cop, trying to catch an armed bank robber?
Swat members even carry larger handguns which a smaller and weaker person can't even use.
Oh and Don Quixote is an idiot and a racist. Just read Don Q.'s comments from the other blogs posted here. Don't waste you time answering the racist fool.
Chief Bratton is the messenger for Mayor Villaraigosa’s plan but has to present this idea as his own in this politically-based climate.
It is foolish to treat SWAT membership as if it's some kind of social club.
This gig is quite a bit different than sending out invitations for to a tea party or ice cream social.
This is a special purpose unit (even the name tells you that- “Special Weapons And Tactics”).
The more stringent the requirements, the better the performance of the unit will be.
The shooting of Pena was just a pretext to get into the subject of revamping the standards. Shooting very rarely is needed, but the ability to do that is very important when it is needed. Every other skill called upon to get the job done has to be of the highest level to be as good as it has been over all the years on all the call outs.
Change the standards? It will be a mistake of monumental proportions to lower any standards. If done, that will jeopardize life and limb all on its own.
When that happens, there will be no administrator or politician to be found to take the any responsibility for letting that inevitability happen.
PetraFried states
"""Mr. Quixote, it's this kind of self-obsessive, whine-y "poor me" bullsh*t that embarasses the rest of us 'women and minorities'"""
Self obsessive, poor me?
Hey PetraFried I'm not a cop and never had a desire to be one cause it isn't my stroke so I don't know what the "Poor me" comment was about.
I am just stating facts and a known history in the annals of the LAPD and LAFD.
If you can show me proof that this racist history is false and that the old school LAPD and LAFD were not for many many years an almost exclusive all white all male institution then I'll kiss your ass, if not you can then kiss my Mexican American Ass twice.
Hey by the way PEtraFried that so called authentic "anonymous" letter sounds like the one used to go around (names and dates changed to protect the innocent), during the infamous Chief Wm Parker regime when almost the entire LAPD was white and male only.
Oh yeah! It was given to me by a friend of a friend who is a black female officer who wants to remain anonymous?
Very scientific and professional indeed!
1) Bratton & Tony Villa are idiot/media suck-ups.
2) The Police league is trying to warn those 2 suck-ups that by lowering the standards, not only will SWAT officers be exposed to greater danger due to having sub-standard partners, the public is also in danger. As a female, I want the BEST protecting me, whether or not that officer is a woman. If I'm a hostage, I want the BEST taking aim at my captor, not some token chick (per Sharon Pappa's request) or minority who couldn't cut it under reqular SWAT shooting standards ... I'm a minority female, and frankly, I don't give a damn about the gender or race of my protector ... as long as they're the best LAPD has to offer. Bratton and his butt-boys/girls are idiots.
The not-so-dynamic Bratton/Villar duo are obsessive suck-ups!
I'm a minority female who doesn't give a DAMN whether SWAT has "a representative # of females or blacks!" This is not a jury pool we're looking to fill ... this is a search for the BEST officers LAPD has to offer, regardless of sex or ethnicity. If I am taken hostage, I don't want a sub-standard officer taking aim at my captor's head, inches away from my own, just because Bratton says it has to be that way! Does he forget that "to protect and to serve" means the public????
With the recent, sad death of one of our SWAT officers, how is it logical to decide that the lowering of SWAT standards is the thing to do? Boy, if I were in SWAT I'd sure feel safe knowing that some of my fellow officers or partners earned their spot because it suited Bratton's political agenda!
There's something very wrong with Bratton and his entourage of suck-ups ... public opinion and/or popularity shouldn't be courted at the expense of public AND officer safety. They make me sick.
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