Category Archives: LAPD

Hollenbeck C-PAB Welcomes Back Live Meetings

21 Thursday Oct 2021

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Community1

-by Bill Watkins 10/20/2021

Every third Wednesday at 6:00pm Hollenbeck Division Headquarters on 1st Street in Boyle Heights welcomes the Community-Police Advisory Board (C-PAB) to facilitate an exchange of information and advice.

New Hollenbeck Captain Germán Hurtado co-chaired the meeting with C-PAB community Co-Chair Mark Overstreet of University Hills.  The board is five strong but is actively open to new recruits who want to serve their communities as a liaison between the LAPD and the streets.  The captain opened with a crimes report, reflecting a slight surge in numbers and high concerns over the “homeless situation.”

Also present and contributing were Neighborhood Prosecutor Cynthia Gonzalez, Hollenbeck Detective Commander Chris Mayberry, area LAPD Lead Officers, two representatives from CA Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo’s office, the board members mentioned and about twenty members of the community.  Interested members brought their concerns, among them:  gang activity and crimes in areas with high homeless populations.

Commander Mayberry stressed the importance of having experts on gang activity among Hollenbeck’s force, as “a strong nexus exists between the gangs and certain kinds of crimes.”  Neighborhood Prosecutor Cynthia Gonzalez with the City Attorney’s office, committed to Hollenbeck Division and communities they serve, spoke at length on her work, from trying to educate folks on keeping public spaces safe and accessible (L.A. Municipal Code Section 41.18) to advising those present of a “Safe Parking Program” that exists out of Council District 1 in Glassell Park.  The program attempts to assist in safe parking for RV’s in this area.

Lead Officers contributed their reports, with Officer Oscar Casini receiving special recognition for his outstanding work.  Officer Huerta of Lincoln Heights, Hermon, and Rose Hills communities spoke of extra attention on Debs Park of late, while Officer Frank Dominguez mentioned more concerns about homeless populations.  All of the lead officers requested community help and involvement.

For some that involvement could be membership in the C-PAB board, for others captaincy with Neighborhood Watch.  Officer Casini passionately pitched for community support, knowing that without it—LAPD will not be as successful as they could be.  It’s through community watch programs and support that quality of life can rise to new heights, a community member even presenting an idea to introduce non-lethal foot patrols to get ahead of crimes in the area.

Opinions at Wednesday’s meeting expressed that far better than reacting to crime is to put eyes on the street and avoid them altogether.  Together, Wednesday night’s C-PAB meeting seemed to say, we can create the kind of community we want.  See you at Hollenbeck Division Headquarters (2111 1st Street, Boyle Heights) on each third Wednesday, the next meeting scheduled for November the 17th at 6:00pm.

Love Multiplier

02 Monday Sep 2019

Posted by in LAPD, Poem, Poems, Poesia, Poetic Blog, Poetry, Police

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Yoda1

You want to spotlight the gangs
from your loud chopper above;
you want to wage a war to feel…

to feel… Something.  To feel safe,
to get paid; to find your situation,
your three square meals and a cot,

your off the boat and into uniform
guarantee of work.  The wide path
to destruction is so easy to acquire…

So, maybe say “No.”  Maybe flip
the gospels upside down, imagine
that which comforts you most—

Died and was not there.  Perhaps
we could benefit from the naked
walk in nature, trust higher powers

the natives in “America” call Great
Spirit, mother earth, peace of effort
exuding graves under white decoration

and advance.  We built churches and
cities on sacred grounds because we
did not do what the bible said to do.

We talk the big game, but then when
put to the test, we often fall through
the water Jesus walked, fish to net—

Because our faith is as strong as a
guppy against a hungry racoon,
abstinence to the drunk who forgot

to pray…

We could send love out to our
communities and get the peace
war officers claim to protect.

Or we can keep throwing up those
choppers, wage war with cops
and uniforms allowing fear to

fuel anger to fuel hatred so we
can continue to suffer.  Yoda
shakes his head.

Turn around, if the wrong path
you are on, young Luke or Leia…
Spread love not fear, ground

your horrible first instincts, wait,
listen, and only act if moved
by something truly good.

Cop Choppers Violate Our Rights

28 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by in LAPD, Poem, Poems, Poesia, Poetic Blog, Poetry

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LAPD Helicopter1

by Bill Watkins, Land Thief, 8/28/2019

***

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated… 

My home and neighborhood was just assaulted by a reckless LAPD chopper, circling and zig-zagging low, loud and fast over our homes.  With a spotlight searching.  It was after nine o’clock at night, and the lack of direction of the metal war machine tells that this was some misguided patrol or stunt, without a particular point of search.  Disgusting.

We’ve allowed ourselves to go pretty low by our uninhibited attempts at flight.  The vanity of man.  Of European man and descendants, to come to this land, kick off native people committed to a natural, peaceful life that respected the earth… to burn the earth, fly over citizens shining lights into our properties with or without cause, calling it public safety!  It’s tempting to be mad at all of this, but I resist, love and forgive our confused brothers and sisters of the “law,” who I imagine have very hard lives to end up in such a lonely, loud metal box running war ops for a “living.”

Sometimes I think folks of our militaries and para-military police forces have trouble with peace.  Wouldn’t know what to do, if peace came around; their jobs, in fact, dependent on bad things happening and response.  Are there incentives for them to do nothing?  Are we ready for peace?  Is a Gang Unit prepared to disband, when we stop warring against gang communities—start loving and securing them properly?

The mandate from England and Spain to explore, discover and conquer lands “not actually possessed of any Christian Prince” continues to pollute this land.  Guns, bibles, and conquering is perfectly embodied in that loud police chopper disturbing the peace and violating privacy rights above me tonight.  To snatch it down from the sky and encourage that pilot and his or her bosses to walk down a good trail is why I write—

My pen now engaged for the rights of native peoples whose lands my descendants stole.  I plan to remove myself soon, to head eventually back to England, inform the Crown of the mass amounts of gold I found.  It was not a shiny rock we needed, dear England, but the wisdom of the Native Americans and their love for the land!

Alternatives to Loud and Lethal Policing

28 Wednesday Aug 2019

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Horrible Police1

by Bill Watkins 8/28/2019

***

It starts with a hard truth and look back at our sad history of terrorizing and abusing Native America with our guns.  We stole land, put down some concrete, asphalt and buildings, now patrol it with the same guns that helped us to steal it.  Add to that other tools of war, like low-flying and noise polluting helicopters, and you put the finishing touches on completing the manifest destiny of planting loud and violent civilization on America, blessed by a biblical god.

You cannot abandon the helicopter program at LAPD or other police agencies across this country, without telling those hard truths first.  Without examining European practices like alcohol consumption, corruption, cursing and disease.  We were high on our bibles and guns, came in like plundering Vikings, and today keep plundering the silence with hunks of metal manned by men and women who think it okay to burn earth and go fast high above it to seek out bad people and lock them in jail.

Had we listened to Native American people, their chiefs, wise men and women, had we learned from their respectful ways, their love of mother earth—we would have taken in true Christian principles without the fancy book and professions of piety.  Had we listened…  Something we could still do!  “No matter how far down the wrong path you are on, turn around!” informs the Turkish proverb, and may we heed it now.

Come down from the air, police officers, and help our communities.  If you do not want to help in a peaceful manner, please leave.  Maybe research your family history, and return to your country of origin.  I know I plan to do so.  We should have never stolen this land!  Visit and set up trade in it…  Fine.  But build forts and towns without permission of the natural inhabitants?  No.  It is wrong.  It is even un-Christian and antithetical to a biblical way of life that forbids stealing in the Jewish command given to Moses.

We keep stealing, keep killing, brandish and fire our weapons, the LAPD and other cops training to kill—as we have done since first dropping our sick feet down on Native America and this land.  Shhhhhh!  Quiet.  Stop.  Learn from the wise chiefs, read Kent Nerburn’s beautiful book, The Wisdom of the Native Americans, and note our part in stealing land.  No matter how far down this wrong path we are on, let’s ground our horrible choppers, melt down our sinful guns, and turn back toward a real heaven Native Americans will surely help us reach.

As to an alternative for loud and lethal policing, let us walk away and invite Native Americans back into their land to be governed by the Great Spirit, as before we came here.  When we respect these people fully, we will begin a true path to peace and public safety.

Where’s the Peace?

25 Sunday Aug 2019

Posted by in LAPD, Poetic Blog, Police

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LAPD Helicopter1

by Bill Watkins, Land Thief, 8/25/2019

LAPD are the loudest entity on my block.  Consistently loud, abusive and rude.  They damage the peace routinely, which is at odds with the concept of Peace Officers.  LAPD’s supposed mission:

…to safeguard the lives and property of the people we serve, to reduce the incidence and fear of crime, and to enhance public safety while working with the diverse communities to improve their quality of life.  Our mandate is to do so with honor and integrity, while at all times conducting ourselves with the highest ethical standards to maintain public confidence.

Was “peace” and “keeping the peace” something that was considered in our mission statement?  Something impossible to do with the abusive use of loud, polluting helicopters!  What “quality of life” is increased with war machines killing the peace in a ten mile radius?  How is a bad situation made better by making it worse?

“There’s a suspect in this region, so add the crime of noise pollution, and send a chopper?”

I don’t want the LAPD’s war on our communities.  Do you?!?!

Helicopters Disturb the Peace

24 Saturday Aug 2019

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LAPD Helicopter1

by Bill Watkins, Land Thief, 8/24/2019

TITLE 11. OF CRIMES AGAINST THE PUBLIC PEACE [CPC 403 – 420.1]
( Title 11 enacted 1872. )

415.
(2) Any person who maliciously and willfully disturbs another person by loud and unreasonable noise.

Written American law code is sort of a joke, when you think that the United States government was founded on land theft.  But while here, I’ll play with it to point out how unlawful LAPD and other police agency helicopters are, operating loudly and by code illegally over our communities.

I never see the criminals or suspects around here, just hear and see the horrible sounds and sights of LAPD’s warlike choppers—fine for the Hell of CIA’s war in Vietnam, but no good for a peaceful, loving society.  I smirk, for how can we ever be, if we do not invite native America back to their land, retreat to our own lanes and spaces—from our countries of origin to smaller tracts with permission and coordination with the natives?

A horrible sound and people we have let ourselves be, from the get-go rationalized by our bibles and guns.  “We must be better than the native peoples,” we belched, “because we can kill better, curse better, drink alcohol better and steal land better.”  Shameful.

Turkish Proverb1

The moment we turn back, we can rethink the asphalt in that road, the polluting machines we use to travel on them, and above everything else the horrible war machines police abuse to abuse the peace of our neighborhoods, called helicopters.  A horrible invention by a lost people, a people who have abandoned their fathers’ graves and past—

to steal the land of native Peoples in Martin Waldseemüller’s “America.”  We have lost our way, and the abuse of helicopters is representative of this loss, along with mass shootings and gun obsession.  If we ever should want peace of mind, we must turn this ship around;

it all starts by telling the truth.

LAPD Choppers Reduce Quality of Life

23 Friday Aug 2019

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LAPD Helicopter1

by Bill Watkins, Land Thief, 8/22/2019

We are victims of our own fundamental sins in “Los Angeles” and other modern cities across this land mapmaker Martin Waldseemüller called America in 1507.  The real name for where I live is the native Otsungna, or “place of the Roses,” and mustn’t that have been nice?  There was a river running through it, instead of graffiti on concrete surrounding a weak stream.  There was a lake in the area we now call San Marino, but white farmers came in and sucked out its water so much that it is now a nice grass-lined park… but no more lake.

There were no sirens, no airplanes, and no helicopters robbing the earth of peace simultaneous to burning her blood to go faster and higher.

Speaking of robbery, there was a people, mostly naked and brown-skinned, who lived on and with the land.  They had no books, modern weapons or guns—so fell easy prey to aggressive, land-grabbing white people, who threatened and committed violence under a painted cross.  We stole land and butted out peaceful inhabitants here so that we could erect our New Europe.

We brought guns, alcohol, cursing and disease—but oh man did we have a book!  “This book will save you from all your sins!” we bragged to the native tribes living at peace with the real God in nature.  We did not want to hear their myths and stories, took some tips on planting and living in this land, then kicked them out in the name of the god of words on pages, revved up our industrial revolution and “progress”—progressing and advancing our weaponry, noise, cursing and alcohol consumption, while the native people were pushed out of sight and mind.

Today LAPD helicopters claim to patrol this land, claim to “safeguard the lives and property” of us citizens of a city, county, state and government based in land theft.  Crimes are committed everyday, the most evident to me while I still live on this stolen land by police helicopters killing peace with their war tools.  The LAPD mission statement, quoted above, also says that its officers work “with the diverse communities to improve their quality of life.”  Are we defining terms the same way?

What a sad people we are, roaring up in metal vessels, polluting the air and life below, deeming it good for our quality of life.  A roar we unfortunately hear, since 1957’s first introduction of the noise polluter above our city, to me the point of the sword that killed and forced out native America, peace, rivers and lakes from this land.  We could have set up trade, respected native peoples, allowed them to live side by side with us, but no.  We were too sick, too infected with the self-righteousness of might equaling right, with some words in a book we were sure could not ever be beaten by any people’s unwritten traditions.

We have failed to improve this land, and yes I plan to leave it soon, to give my spot back to a native American.  While I am still here, I will continue to point out obvious crimes—most commonly committed by our supposed crime-stoppers, the LAPD.  Police officers across this land represent our collective shame, our thievery, our pollution.  It’s time we admitted our sins—

the first step in amending them.