Re: [Leica] But Did He Use A Leica?

["Roland Smith" <roland@dnai.com>]

I grew up in Los Angeles in the area called North Hollywood in the 1940s and
1950s.   I was a law abiding teenager as were the academic students I had as
friends.   The Los Angeles Police Department would stop us for no reason at
all and search us and our automobiles.

After college, Occidental in Los Angeles, I set a priority of not living in
Los Angeles and lived until 1984 in the San Gabriel Valley with a CPA firm
in Glendale.

My reason for avoiding Los Angeles is that the police have always been
abusive.   Even though Willie Williams has brought in community policing,
the Ramparts Division scandal may be showing it up to be a joke.

Here in Oakland, CA  I am the elected City Auditor with the power to
investigate the police department without check.  I am beginning to see
hints of police abuse of the trust placed in them.  Police departments are,
generally, a concept of the mid nineteenth century.   Sometimes, there is a
crossover from their serving to their being served.   A public check is a
necessary balance.   An out of control example of unchecked de facto power
is found in the recent history of the New Orleans police department.

Roland Smith
roland@dnai.com

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Rose <rjr@usip.com>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2000 6:49 PM
Subject: [Leica] But Did He Use A Leica?


> Here is a lawsuit that was filed today in LA.  Boy, in this City you don't
want to take a photo of a cop.
>
> Felipe Sattler v. LA
> 2/15 CV00-1632 WJR
> Civil rights action by student who was going to a cafe to meet friends and
tutor to study. He saw a policeman stop a pretty girl for jaywalking, then
let her go. He took a photo and was called over by the policeman who asked
for an explanation. He said the same policeman had given him a ticket the
day before while letting the girl go. Officer Rives handcuffed him and
arrested him for rape. The tutor came by and asked why the student was being
investigated. The policeman said it was interfering with a police officer.
At the jail, he was marched around, strip searched and taken to a holding
tank where men were charged with various violent crimes. When he got to
court the following afternoon, he was told the rape charges were dropped but
if he didn't plead guilty to a misdemeanor, he would be spending the weekend
in jail. He pled. He blew his mid-terms and has had had repeating nightmares
since.
>
>
>