New LAPD Chief Charlie Beck Sworn In For Duty, DA Steve Cooley Vows to Prosecute Illegal Pot Shops
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa swears in LAPD Chief Charlie BeckPhoto from LA Times Al Seib
The Los Angeles City Council today appointed Charlie Beck as the city's new police chief.
The council unanimously approved Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's nomination at a hearing this morning. There was no organized opposition to the nomination of Beck, currently an LAPD deputy chief, but the stakes are high.
The choice comes at a time of uncertainty for the department as Beck will be given the task of sustaining former Police Chief William J. Bratton’s hard-won gains amid dwindling city budgets. Beck, 56, has risen quickly through the department’s command ranks in recent years and was viewed widely as the favorite to be selected by the mayor.
From his success in rehabilitating the Rampart Division, which had been at the center of a corruption scandal, and later as head of the LAPD’s forces in South Los Angeles, he has earned praise from police and civic leaders for blending a tough stance on crime with a progressive approach to improving the police department’s relationship with the public.
Villaraigosa chose Beck nearly three months after Bratton announced he would step down at the end of October. During his seven years as chief, Bratton oversaw dramatic declines in crime and improved long-strained relations between police and minority communities.
Villaraigosa chose Beck nearly three months after Bratton announced he would step down at the end of October. During his seven years as chief, Bratton oversaw dramatic declines in crime and improved long-strained relations between police and minority communities.
Meanwhile, District Attorney Steve Cooley Disregards City Council Vote and Vows to Prosecute Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said today he will prosecute dispensaries that sell medical marijuana even if the Los Angeles City Council adopts an ordinance that does not ban such sales.
On Monday, two council committees rejected the city attorney’s advice and changed a provision in the proposed ordinance, allowing cash transactions as long as they comply with state law.
“Undermining those laws via their ordinance powers is counterproductive, and, quite frankly, we’re ignoring them. They are absolutely so irrelevant it’s not funny,” Cooley said.
Cooley said state law and state court decisions have made it clear that collectives cannot sell marijuana at dispensaries.
He reiterated his view that most, if not all, dispensaries in the county are in violation of the law. “We don’t know of one that’s not engaging in just over-the-counter sales,” he said.
Then this quote from Councilman Ed Reyes, soon after Cooley's announcement.
Councilman Ed Reyes, who has overseen the development of the city’s ordinance, said that he did not think Cooley’s comments would cause the council to rethink whether to allow sales. “This is not about Cooley vs. Reyes, or Cooley vs. the council. This is about the quality of life. We all have better things to do than to do this legal jousting,” he said.
Thus, for those who plan on navigating the choppy waters of Los Angeles politics, the next couple of years should be full of verbal and legal broadsides between the "S.S. Clowncil" with Captain Villar at the helm and the "S.S. Cooley Nuch" acting as the legal enforcer of local political navigation.
BTW, nice to see that Councilman Reyes is consistent in his sanctuary tendencies for all illegal law breakers, regardless of age, sex, or creed.
Your thoughts..................
Labels: City Attorney carmen trutanich, Councilman Ed Reyes, District Attorney Steve Cooley, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, Los Angeles City Council, medical marijuana
Posted by Red Spot in CD 14 @ 11/17/2009 12:47:00 PM
19 Comments:
The Illegal Pot Shops do more harm than them Illegal aliens
2:09 so, let's make the illegal pot shops legal and then they can be regulated so that they don't cause this so-called harm you're referring to.
Should Cooley decide to do what he's threatening, he's only setting the city up for costly lawsuits which will go on for years. His stance is idiotic. If he really wishes to "control crime" and get the cartels out of here, then work with the city to get good ordinances on the books that can be enforced and make it a win-win for both sides--those who need access to medical marijuana and the city who could stand to keep collecting all that tax revenue they have been from the dispensaries.
Not all dispensaries are shady operations. There are many that are very careful and don't market themselves improperly. Why should they be punished for the irresponsible actions of the so-called dispensaries who have no intention of following local ordinances.
Seems Cooley in only interested in going after pot shops and is fine with all the Superior Court Judges violating the State Constitution by taking yearly kick backs from the county. Heard nothing from him with the last state budget gave them immunity from criminal proscution. Looks like we need a state wide Ordinance to put to cuffs on Cooley.
The issue is NOT that Cooley's going to prosecute illegal shops.
The issue is that Cooley has decided to go against the courts, Attorney General Brown, and the City Council (laughing them off as so irrelevant to who he prosecutes "it's not even funny") so that he alone DECIDES what the law means. He alone with his puppet Trutonuch has decided that all sales for profit or otherwise are illegal, CONTRARY to many court rulings and Attorney General jerry Brown.
Cooley expressed fury that Council again slapped down his moron puppet Trutonuch's "opinion" which is nothing more than a mimic of his own. Jump, Trutovich, Cooley's calling! Jump, Council! Do what Trutovich and Cooley tell you, you fell for us like fools during the campaign, thought Nuch was another Huggy Herzberg, ha ha!
Even their flunky Zine had to agree with Reyes: the courts are unclear but other cities interpret them FOR storefront sales as does Brown, NOT the narrow definition of having to make sick patients grow their own and exchange it.
To do otherwise, guaranteed a huge class-action lawsuit the city couldn't lose: but Cooley's stooly Trutovich was pushing for it even as he lies he's trying to save the city money. (SO unTrue when the real audits are in.)
The blogs are all slamming Cooley for thinking he's judge and jury and Sheriff and Chief of Police. There's talk of a JOINT recall.
YEAH YEAH YEAH STEVE COOLEY. GO AFTER THEM HARD AND MAKE THE MORONS ON COUNCIL LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF IDIOTS. Thanks Red Spot about LA Weekly story on students getting referrals to marijuana shops. Can these council morons be as stupid as they look? People are sending e-mails all over the city outraged at their stupidity. I hope Trutanich (YES THE BULL) WE LOVE the way he goes after those ordinances and Cooley are going to team up and finally get things done in this city. We can't depend on those losers in city council. TRUTANICH YOU HAVE TONS OF SUPPORT OUT HERE. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK
BTW Everyone knows Beck was a Bratton pick months ago.
November 17, 2009 2:52 PM
You are an idiot and don't know what your are talking about.
It's public knowledge that the State has already prosecuted and given a West Hollywood "Coalition" owner 7 years in the state prison for selling MM. Get you facts straight instead of dissing people who are following the law.
Those council members who want to break the law should be recalled. They are the ones who caused this problem in the first place by drawing up poor legislation. They are in too much of a hurry to grandstand in order to appear to be heros, that they make a mess of everything they touch and leaving us open to lawsuits.
The District and City Attorney's
offices are supposed to keep them from getting into messes such as these, but they refuse to listen to their own Council who are paid with our tax dollars.
Fire their fat butts,that are like their heads, obviously too big for their seats! They are a shameful bunch of clowns who have no respect for the citizens of L.A.
One judge and one injuction will deliver a bitch slap to little stevie just like the one the Nuch received.
2:24 send the Illegal aliens back and leave the pot shops alone
You're not quite getting it. Councilmember Reyes is acting on behalf of his key supporters and as a honorary Mexican Mafia member enabler.
Cooley is following the State law. The Clowncil is just making up nonsense as they always do. How can city's such as Oakland, San Francisco, West Hollywood, and Santa Monica come up with workable MM ordinances, but the city of L.A. can only spin their wheels for four years.
Follow the money!
Red Spot:
Why haven't you cleared the posting of my comment in the blog posting "Outtakes from CD 14: "The Great White Ghost of CD 14 Speaks"? I'm sure that it's worth of being put up there as is.
-Eastsider
They are not "illegal aliens"; they are merely "Undocumented Democrats".
Wow! Hear them squeal like stuck pigs! At last someone other than Berger has had the guts to call out the corrupt trio, led by Jan Perry, and you're all dising Cooley and Trutanich.
Ed Reyes has the IQ of a dishwasher, and that's an insult to dishwashers who at least work for a living.
These legal geniuses think that they can pass an ordinance that makes what the State and Federal law says is illegal into something legal. They are delusional and completely ignorant of the law.
What is so awfully embarrassing, is that their stupid Sesame Street logic is about to make Los Angeles the joke of America.
Jan Perry is fighting for her life right now - bought and paid for by AEG, who are about to throw her under the bus when Dennis Zine collects the check for the Michael Jackson Memorial Commercial in return for AEG revealing that it was Perry who ok'd the whole thing when someone had the stupidity to leave Perry in charge of Los Angeles while AV and Garcetti went off on their vacations.
Los Angeles used to be able to keep boondoggles like this quiet, because they did not have a city attorney who was willing to shout out the inside deals. Now they've got Trutanich to deal with, and he won't back off, he won't back down and he's got the DA of Los Angeles County supporting him.
Perry and Reyes are screwed and tomorrow watch the rest of City Hall throw them under the bus because they don't want to sign on to Los Angeles legalizing drug dealing.
Whatever happens tomorrow, Trutanich has won, If the City backs the Ed Reyes illegal drug sales law, then they make Los Angeles the joke of the nation, If they adopt Trutanich's ordinance, they give Trutanich a thumbs up.
Both solutions are abhorrent to the trio of corruption, so what will the Council do? Punt the issue. That's why it's taken Los Angeles nearly 4 years to come up with an ordinance; none of them want to stand up and be counted.
Go Trutanich!
Garcetti, Reyes, Huizar and Weiss were and are total failures as this issue became more important.
This is the wrong time to go after pot dispensaries. We have bigger fish to fry. It's crazy to waste our time on medical marijuana.
I'm shocked that you Republicans are so anti-pot. I thought you were supposed to be the party of do-whatever-you-want-as-long-as-you-stay-out-of-my-personal-business type of government.
It turns out you're the party of fear. You try to dictate by fear. Mostly fear that your losing your collective asses all around the country. You don't believe people who want to smoke pot should be able to. Yet you do believe that it's okay to pack pieces. You don't believe a woman has a right to do "what she wants" with her body because of some warped religious angle you've mixed in with your government.
Basically, it appears all you care about is getting rid of illegal immigrants, no more taxes no matter what (unless the military wants it, I guess), no universal health care even though it's better to pay $200 for prevention per person than it is to pay $200,000 over the course of their lifetimes to keep them well, and actually you should view that also in terms of abortion. If you were to actually pay for the abortion instead of paying to raise a child, you'll save about $150,000 per year per teen pregnancy who chooses to keep the baby.
I think most people are confused by your anti pot dispensary issues because if you were to stake out every dispensary in the city, I think you would be shocked at the lack of crime. Tsk tsk on the scare tactics.
And nobody is talking about a double recall. You can babble all you want about the perceived support you have, but lots of politicians need recalled but the time, money, effort and energy you need to expend should make you just THINK REALLY, REALLY HARD BEFORE YOU VOTE FOR YOUR NEXT COUNCILMAN. Work on their campaigns. Help make them win. But the non-stop recall talk makes you lose credibility with the city rather than accomplish what you were hoping, which is obviously to try and threaten and intimidate them into listening to you and instead they view YOU as clowns while you view THEM as clowns.
The LA City Council can pass all the motions they want; they have absolutely no sway over the District Attorney.
The DA is an independently elected offical of Los Angeles County. He has full proecutoral discretion to enforce any and all laws of the State of California, and the LA City Council's resolutions, ordinances or motions don't mean jack sh*t to him.
Go get 'em Steve; and while you are at it, try some political corruption investigations of the coucilmembers who are the most vociferous in their defense of illegal pot sellers.
Where there is smoke, there is fire...
Quit calling them "Illegal Aliens"; they are "Undocumented Democrats".
Recall that moron Trutanocich - he lied on every single issue to trick people into working for him and giving him money, definition of fraud. Lied to Chick and everyone who supported her - lied to the pot people - lied to the gang program people then wrote that reactionary "hanging" law - LIED< LIED< LIED.
He doesn't understand his job, is not doing his job, is using the job to act as a renegade thug.
RECALL THE MORON, we can't take 3 1/2 more years of this! We can't take another 6 months of this!
The whole city council should be recalled. They are the ones that allowed 1,000 pot shops to open.
Now they want to fix the problem. It's a little too late for that. Ed Reyes is too late coming to the table on this issue. He must have been smoking the stuff and sleeping somewhere while he let all those shops open.
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