Tag Archives: Police

Santa Monica Community Police Academy – Week 5

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Week 5 – “Treat Everybody with Dignity and Respect, But Always Have A Way to Kill Them”
— Captain Lowe

That quote was a little scary, so here’s his photo. Look at that smile! (Feel better now?)

Photo credit: no clue, not me

This week’s first topic was “Rules of Arrest” which we’ll get to in a minute. First I want to (re)introduce you to Captain Lowe. He oversees the Operations Division and the class met him at the first session, but I didn’t realize at the time that he has his Master’s in “the Zombie Apocalypse.” To be honest, I didn’t even know that was a thing you could get a Master’s in and I now immediately regret every life decision I’ve ever made.

It sounds like I’m pulling your leg, doesn’t it? Not really. Captain Lowe has his Master’s in “Emergency Services Administration” which I’m sure is just what it sounds like, and I will now refuse to call anything other than “Zombie Apocalypse Management” because that’s just who I am. ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) It’s probably disaster management & logistics, the science of effective allocation of resources when your ‘resources’ are in flux or just next to nothing, the psychology of dealing with a traumatized population, that kind of thing. (I could google it and find out I’m sure, but I’ll just make myself sad if I’m wrong and it has nothing to do with zombies after all.) In Santa Monica that’s probably regional stuff like earthquakes along with more general disasters like fire or flood, and major outbreaks of disease. Like what to do in the case of an illness spreading throughout the population so quickly and dramatically that people are just sort of wandering around looking for help, too sick and confused to really know what they are doing, until they finally collapse in the streets. You know, a zombie apocalypse!!!

I have so many questions, I don’t even know where to start. Do people have doctorates in this, is that even a thing? (Would they accept a zombie themed dissertation if the work was solid, just presented in a silly way?) How much of what Captain Lowe learned getting his Master’s applies to day-to-day law enforcement, or is it things that only apply in huge disasters? Was this a particular area he’d always been interested in? Why or why not? Does it make it impossible to enjoy ‘disaster’ movies now, or are they more fun? What do I do in the event of a west coast based Sharknado? (Do you think I’m kidding???)

Captain Lowe briefly went over his background with the Santa Monica Police Department (24 years!) which only made me want to ask him a million more questions… How is one assignment different from another one? (And different from the next, and the next…) Which one surprised him the most? Which one did he like the most? Does he ever miss any of them, or is he very happy being a big shot Captain and doing Captain-y things? And what are those Captain-y things like anyway? Is it mostly meetings in conference rooms and internal politics at that level? What is his day to day job actually like? Forget a “ride along” with a patrol officer, I want a “ride along” with Captain Lowe!

In a previous class we’d gotten to speak to someone who also had a long career in law enforcement, but his was at a number of different agencies. That’s where all that stuff I learned about SMPD vs LAPD tactics came from. It wasn’t part of the curriculum necessarily, but it made the class better just being able to chat about that officer’s history and experiences. I bet just casually chatting with Captain Lowe about his 24 years with the SMPD would have been similarly fascinating, teaching me things I’d never even think to ask about.

I was too busy writing down questions I wanted to ask to catch it exactly, but Captain Lowe said something about teaching at Ventura College and my ears perked right up. Ah VC, the site of many of my victories and even more of my defeats…

The Santa Monica Police Department building is really beautiful

We jumped right in to the presentation on “Rules of Arrest” which is something I knew nothing about. (The only thing I was taught about this as a kid was ‘if you do something bad, the police will come and arrest you’ so the only “rule” about arrest I know is ‘don’t do bad things.’) Oh sure, I know all the phrases from TV, but knowing what they actually mean in a legal sense is totally different.

There are three different types of ‘Police Contact’

  1. Consensual encounter – this could be initiated by either side. Stopping an officer to ask for directions etc… Also the other way around, when an officer stops and asks “is everything okay here?” (Even when they really mean “I know what you’re doing, you are so busted.”) At this point either party can terminate the contact and it’s all good.
  2. Detention – Nope, you can’t leave. The officer may be asking you questions or running a search on something etc…
  3. Arrest – Handcuffs, no safe word

Looking down in to the foyer of the building

Captain Lowe used short videos to great effect throughout his presentation, they’re here if you’re curious.

One of the pieces of beautiful art we walked past

  • Don’t tell a cop “I know my rights,” show them you know your rights with your behavior (I’m pretty sure that just means acting like an asshole to a cop isn’t going to go over well, which… duh.)
  • What we think of as SVU they call CAPS (Crimes Against Persons)
  • POST = Police Officer Standards and Training, continuing education for cops
  • Do you have to show ID to police? If you’re an adult it depends on the circumstances but probably yes. If you’re a minor it also depends but probably not. If you’re driving the answer is always yes.
  • Captain Lowe –> his officers “If you can’t prove it, you have to let them go” and “A crook is a crook, you’ll get them another day”
  • People always think “match the suspect’s description” is what cops say when they want an excuse to bother them, but sometimes the descriptions they’re given really are so vague a bazillion people fit them.
  • Terry stop – Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio
  • “Reasonable suspicion” is a legal standard less than “probable cause” (the legal standard for arrests & warrants) but must be more than a suspicion or hunch. It must be based on something specific and articulable
  • A male officer can’t pat down a female suspect unless it’s totally unreasonable to wait for a female officer to arrive, etc. There are rules about how to touch, what part of the hand to use, etc.
  • A female officer can pat down a male suspect, no biggie. (That’s sexist.)
  • “Reasonable officer standard” – the legal standard/what the court asks is “what would a reasonable officer do?”
  • “Probable cause” – circumstances leading an officer to believe that a suspect committed a crime, requires more than mere reasonable suspicion but does not require one to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt
  • As an officer you don’t always have to issue a citation to someone, if you’re polite you can sometimes turn it into a teachable moment. (Can I just say how much I LOVE that Captain Lowe said that?!!)
  • Can the police lie to you? Yes.
  • “It’s about the process, not the outcome.”
  • An officer shooting a suspect in the back is sometimes about the Officer’s reaction time – the suspect knows he’s going to resist before the officer does. (I have so many questions about this.)
  • Just because you’re arrested doesn’t always mean you’re Mirandized. (TV lied to me.)

There was SO MUCH to cover and not enough time with Captain Lowe so I was only able to ask one question. As much as I was dying to ask the zombie question, (see what I did there?) I continued with my survey. According to Captain Lowe the closest entertainment media has gotten to accurately portraying the reality of law enforcement is ‘The Wire,’ which I have never seen but have always heard is amazing.

“I am releasing a list of people who have annoyed me this week. Further names will be released as they become available. No questions at this time.”

Even I can’t take myself seriously

A picture of the podium with 100% less dork in the frame

Next up was “Public Safety Communications” which is a fancy way of saying 911. (AKA those people you never think about until you need them, but when you need them boy are you glad they’re there!) This part of class was taught by 2 people, but if I follow my personal rule about only naming names of people who are specifically named on their department’s website that means I’m going to introduce you to one and not the other. Which is really odd… Don’t read into this okay? Both of our ‘teachers’ were wonderful, clearly loved their jobs, and full of fascinating info to share.

911 is part of the Office of Emergency Management. Christopher Herren is the Communications Administrator.

I like neatly labeled things, be they office supplies or offices.

Under Christopher Herren are 1 staff assistant, 5 dispatch supervisors, and 24 dispatchers. They handle all dispatch for the Police Department, Traffic Services, Animal Control, the Jail, the Fire Department, and Emergency Medical Dispatch. If the system were to go down for some reason there is a switch that reroutes all calls to the UCLA Police Department. (I really wanted to ask about this switch. Is it on the wall somewhere or behind a bunch of locks? Can anyone ‘flip the switch’ so it gets flipped as soon as possible after the system goes down or is it more like a nuclear launch where people with keys and secret codes are involved?)

UPDATE: Christopher Herren is awesome, and answered me on twitter

Arclight has nothing to do with 911, they’re just visible through the window

This is the actual dispatch center. Yes, that is Lethal Weapon on the TV. No, it doesn’t mean anything, it was random. Yes, it amused me way more than it should have. The display thingie by the ceiling (its official name, probably) is similar to what we had in the call center I worked in a bajillion years ago, but instead of people calling to complain about billing, this is 911, people’s calls are actually urgent. The letters and numbers show everyone what’s going on in a general way. I mean info like how many operators are available, how many 911 calls are holding (if it’s busy) and for how long, etc. The bottom row (where it says “ADM”) is the same info but for administrative calls. One side is for Police Department, the other for Fire Department. (I think. This part is all from memory.) The actual dispatchers sit in desks with screens all around. The first thing I thought of when we saw the room was the Mission Control Center at JSC.

Did anyone doubt I’d find a way to work NASA in here eventually?

The dispatchers don’t all face the same way and there aren’t any ginormous screens at the front displaying the International Space Station (shame, that) but each dispatcher has multiple screens at their workstation similar to the MCC. From what I could see of their screens these dispatchers are probably the world’s most highly trained professional multi-taskers.

  • They can get busy anytime, day or night. Most of their calls are during the day, though. Day shift has 2x the staff.
  • They handle 350,000 calls per year. 75,000 of those are 911 calls.
  • These days 80% of all 911 calls are coming from cell phones.
  • If a crime has occurred and police and fire are both dispatched but the fire department gets there first they have to stage until the police secure the scene.
  • Questions are asked in a certain order in order to get the most important information to responders as quickly as possible.
  • Help is already on the way while dispatchers are talking to you.
  • Dispatchers work in 12 hour shifts and can have mandatory overtime.
  • Dispatchers often calm down panicked people on site. The example we were given was a medical emergency 911 call where a medical professional was on scene and had to be reminded not to do CPR on the bed, to move the non-responsive person to the floor.
  • Santa Monica’s dispatchers can’t afford to live in Santa Monica.
  • In CA dispatchers have 120 hours of training, plus ongoing training. EMD is a separate 40 hours of training.
  • Mobile 911 routing takes longer and is less accurate, but improving.
  • When something big happens 911 receives many calls at once, tying up phone lines. If you didn’t see whatever it was yourself and you’re pretty sure it’s been reported, don’t call them. Example: if you drive past a car accident you didn’t witness and people are standing around, phones in hand, don’t bother calling. Always error on the side of caution though, if you’re not sure not sure go ahead and call. (Just don’t be an idiot is the point.) (My words, not theirs.)
  • After a large scale disaster cops will do something called a ‘windshield assessment.’ Without stopping, they’ll radio in such-and-such building demolished, on fire, etc. This is to get a clear picture of what is happening. Drills are held a few times a year. (I have so many questions about this.)
  • Don’t call 911 because the power goes out or about your lost dog.
  • 911 lines are a limited resource, each city is allowed a certain number based on population. (I have so many questions about this, too. I find this fascinating.)
  • Know your location when you call 911. They’ll try as hard as they can to find you, but they aren’t clairvoyant. (I had to call 911 from a friend’s house once. I didn’t know his address or cross street. I called from his landline instead of my cell phone and the 911 dispatcher didn’t have to waste any time before sending the paramedics.)

Two different 911 calls were played for us as examples. The first was from a more rural area where encounters with bears aren’t unheard of, so when the caller reported a bear had broken into her car and had gotten him/herself stuck inside, the dispatcher was ready with questions to make sure no one was in immediate danger. (They weren’t, although the bear would probably disagree.) The dispatcher moved on to collecting information for the responding officers which is when it got um… interesting. When the caller told the dispatcher that the car was a Prius the dispatcher couldn’t help but laugh. If it was me I’d have been rolling on the floor clutching my sides, but this dispatcher was a professional and after a split second of laughter was back to collecting info. It was just such a human, relatable moment.

The second call we heard was the polar opposite. What sounded like a young man called 911 to tell them he’d just shot and killed two family members. It was chilling. Once again, the dispatcher was professional, collecting information so first responders weren’t walking in blind, but she also asked if he (the caller/shooter) was okay. We didn’t hear how the call ended, but you could hear the dispatcher try to develop a rapport with the young man, no horror or judgement or sadness in her voice. Anything to help resolve the situation with no further loss of life. It’s something I wouldn’t be capable of doing no matter how much training I had. Dispatchers don’t get enough credit for what they do.

There hasn’t been a session that I didn’t enjoy, but this week’s class was particularly fun!

As always, we end with a palm tree pic.

Santa Monica Community Police Academy – Week 4

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Week 4 – A Smörgåsbord of Information

This week’s session was actually divided into 3 mini-classes so this post might be a bit all over the place, apologies…

Santa Monica’s Homeless Liaison Unit was created in 1991 to partner with social services to provide outreach to Santa Monica’s transient population.

  • Homelessness is not a crime
  • The team consists of 6 officers, 1 supervisor, 1 department of mental health clinician
  • Not assigned radio calls, this is their full time assignment
  • Dedicated phone number (310) 458-8953 to report ongoing homeless related issues
  • West Coast Care (contracted outreach provider)
  • CA has 118,000 homeless, 22% of the homeless population in the country
  • To receive services you have to be homeless in the city for 5 years or more, or have previously lived or worked in the city
  • This unit takes a proactive rather than reactive approach
  • Project Homecoming sends people back to their families

Basically they identify the homeless people that cause a disproportionate number of radio calls and disturbances, and work to try to connect those people to help and resources.  It’s the ‘stopping problems before they start’ and ‘preventing future problems’ theory to law enforcement, and that is where my interest in all of this lies.  Not in homelessness specifically, but in that middle part of the venn diagram where enforcing laws and helping people overlap.

I keep trying to write a post about where that interest comes from and why I am doing this class, but every time I stop and delete it. I’ll just say that my early experiences with police taught me that they are not there to help, and calling the police will just make a bad situation worse. (I’m not going to post private details online but if you know me in real life and want to discuss this, just ask.) As an adult I know that’s not accurate, but lessons learned as a kid under traumatic circumstances are not the kind you can just shrug off, ya know?… Anyway, this was the topic I was most looking forward to this week.

A lot of the discussion centered around issues of addiction and mental illness (how could it not?!) but the question I asked was about the homeless who are not addicts or mentally ill, people who might get up and go to work every day but sleep in a tent under a bridge. There’s a housing crisis in LA and I personally know a few people in those situations, so I’d imagine it happens in Santa Monica too… It wasn’t a really specific question I guess, just sort of a ‘is this on your radar?’ and the answer was no, it’s not. I don’t even know what could be done in those situations, but I imagine even a “normal” (I hate that word) person who finds themselves on the street could easily fall into hopelessness and despair which are the exact conditions that can lead to addiction and let mental illnesses flourish uncontrolled. sigh… I don’t know the answer, I don’t even know the right questions to ask, but I know it’s a problem.

Next up we heard from two very articulate and poised young women about the Explorer program and the Cadet program. I’m going to leave you with those two links to read because my notes are basically a very poor restatement of the info that is on those pages, but you really should click and check them out. (The only thing I wrote in my notebook that isn’t at one of those two links is “Suzie = mom”)

There was also a specific typo in one of the presentation ‘slides’ which just so happens to be my biggest pet peeve, so now I’m considering becoming a criminal mastermind. Or maybe I’m a melodramatic smart ass. Definitely one of the two.

Our last topic of the night was “Life of an Officer” where two officers spoke with us about exactly that. Both of them impressed me very much with their willingness to talk openly and honestly, but I’m kind of hesitant to share exactly what was discussed because of those exact same reasons… I know they knew they were speaking to an audience (what terrible grammar, sorry) but putting someone else’s thoughts online is a whole different thing than talking to group of people in a room so I’m going to leave it there. They were so approachable that I asked them privately why so many cops hate being called cops. It’s something that no one has ever been able to explain to my satisfaction, and it’s looking like there is no real answer. What started as one of the most adorable ways to refer to police (“constable on patrol”) has been said in snotty tones by so many for so long that it’s just kind of perceived as an insult. Which is sad.

Now the information all of you have been waiting for!

Tonight I asked 4 different officers “what is the closest entertainment media has gotten to accurately portraying the reality of law enforcement.” One officer chose Lethal Weapon, but then changed their answer to End of Watch. The next Officer had no answer. Another Officer chose Southland. The final Officer initially chose CHiPs, but immediately changed their answer to End of Watch. I’ve never seen End of Watch, but I think I should change that soon.

The same trees, but in the daytime. I know this running gag is only funny to me, but I find it HYSTERICAL!!!

Santa Monica Community Police Academy – Week 3

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Week 3: Go to jail, get cookies and ice cream

I’m going to deviate from my usual smart-assery for a little bit here, this week’s topic is too important to make jokes about. (And I can make jokes about anything!) We learned about “use of force” in law enforcement. It wasn’t about police abuse of force specifically, although of course that came up. (How could it not?!) The presentation wasn’t about the laws and rules that govern use of force, although we touched on that. It definitely wasn’t just a bunch of pro-police propaganda, blind to what numbers and data tell us. (And what the numbers tell us is that there’s a problem in this country, a very serious one.) The presentation and discussion on ‘use of force’ was about 2 hours long, but way too short. It’s an extremely complicated subject so we really only briefly talked about some of the many complex issues involved. My notes are a mess, mostly hastily written half sentences about things I wanted to look up online later. I’ll try to turn my notes into something coherent.

  • Narcan is nasal spray that stops the effects of an opioid overdose very quickly.
  • When a major drug dealer is arrested police typically see an increase in overdoses because a new dealer takes over the ‘turf’ and the new product may be more potent or different somehow than drug users are used to.  Narcan is literally a life-saver for many people
  • Clips of police beating on somebody online are out of context (Duh, I feel like everyone knew this already but the point was made very effectively with clips of real police activity, discussion about what we thought we saw, information about what happened before the recording started, repeated viewings and more discussion. Seriously, we could have done nothing but this for two hours and the session would have been A+.)
  • A police officer killing you is considered “search and seizure” under the 4th Amendment
  • “Chippies” = California Highway Patrol
  • Police tactics can really vary from department to department (example: SMPD pulls people out of a vehicle one at a time, LAPD has everyone exit the vehicle all together in the middle of the street)
  • Police “swarm maneuver” is just a big ‘ole dogpile
  • Breaking bones of a resisting suspect is permissible
  • An adrenaline dump can knock an uninjured, ‘tough-guy’ officer off his/her feet
  • If you’re not submissively following an officer’s orders, you are resisting! (example: if you’re told to lay down by police and you sit down, you are resisting. It doesn’t have to be trying to get away or an aggressive action to be resisting.)
  • Officers are taught to “control the head” so, like keeping your hands visible at all times, it’s a good idea to keep your head on the ground when you’re told to lay down
  • Graham v. Connor is the Supreme Court ruling on police use of force

Ultimately, the general rule for use of force is that it should be reasonable and necessary. (Ignoring of course that “reasonable” and “necessary” can mean just about anything you want them to mean.) I feel like I left class with a better understanding of how complex the issue is, and even less of an idea of how to fix it. I also felt a bit comforted by some of the things that the officer teaching all of this to us said. He said that when he’s training new cadets he tells them that ‘every officer is responsible for the amount of force he or she uses.’ In one respect, it’s another ‘duh’ statement because of course everyone is responsible for their actions. In a different respect I think it’s a HUGE thing to say because we are seeing instances again and again in our society where loyalty to the badge is more important than loyalty to the law. An officer with a sense of personal responsibility would, ugh, I’m going off on a tangent that I’m not really qualified to speak about, so we’ll move on…

This week’s answer to the big question of “what is the closest entertainment media has gotten to accurately portraying the reality of law enforcement” is… Cops. I’m not going to say that the officer I asked wasn’t giving my question the full attention it deserves but it’s just so… I mean, it can’t possibly be… really, COPS??!! So you’re saying that ‘reality’ television, a format known for its “creative” editing and for being unrealistic, got this one right?? I’m skeptical…

Next was the “field trip” portion of the evening. We were taken to the jail in the basement of the Santa Monica Police Station. We were told that other jail facilities are very different. I’ve never toured any other jails (not even ‘touristy’ Alcatraz!) so I don’t know as far as comparing anything, but I can tell you that the Santa Monica jail is nice. Everything is bright and clean, except for all of the locks it doesn’t seem like a bad place to spend time. We were shown men’s cells, women’s cells, the “padded” cell, etc. (All of the cells sort of look the same, it’s definitely not the Madonna Inn or anything.)

Because it’s an active jail there was no photography allowed, which I think we all know by now is how I experience the world. (By photographing it, I mean.) So as much as I wanted to climb in a cell, slam the door behind me, and make sad faces through the window while someone took my picture, you’ll just have to imagine it.

Please enjoy this old photo of me “locked” (holding the door closed) in a “jail” (film set) looking “sad” (I’m an idiot) for the camera.

We were shown many cool things about the jail and how it operates, but the one thing that stuck out in my mind was the kitchen. It looks pretty much exactly like you expect it to look, so let me explain what I mean. While our jail guide talked about how the nutritional needs of those who find themselves spending the night are taken care of, my eyes went to the most important thing in the room. The cookies sitting out on the counter. The employees who work in the jail have their own break room/kitchen so I asked about the cookies and the ice cream in the front of the freezer and learned that yes, dessert is part of the nutritionally balanced meal plan.

You don’t have to tour a jail to know that you don’t want to be in one, but after class I went back to my only-slightly-bigger-than-a-jail-cell apartment, noted the lack of either cookies or ice cream, and started contemplating a life of crime. (I need more info before I commit to anything though… check back next week)

This has absolutely nothing to do with the Santa Monica Police Department, but I’m going to link here for my comments to and about the Sheriffs who patrol the Metro station. I think it really illustrates the differences in attitude and approach between different law enforcement agencies. (For the record this is the nicest and most respectful interaction I have ever had with the LA Sheriff’s Department. That is not a compliment.)

It’s not the exact same picture if I take it at a different angle, right?