What presidential election? Soon? In this country?
You never would know it from walking through Police Dept. headquarters on Duquesne.
While the rest of America debated The Debate yesterday, Chief Scott Bixby’s officers talked about everything else, anything else.
This is the norm, Mr. Bixby said yesterday.
He mentioned a boisterous former employee who was “a pretty big supporter and quite vocal about his favorite political party.
“Sometimes we would banter back and forth.”
The chief cited that story because it is an outlier.
Working for the Police Dept. is different from working in, say, a paint store on the eve of a national election. Who cares whether a paint store clerk favors Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Trump?
But everybody in Culver City is acutely aware if cops go public with their political opinions, and then an officer backing the wrong candidate stops to ticket you.
“To be honest,” Mr. Bixby said, “especially the higher up you get here, you are increasingly aware of the importance of a level playing field. You have to be very, very careful about political opinions.
“It is like the old saying that politics and religion are two subjects you probably should not talk about at work. All of us have very different views.
“I don’t necessarily mean at the Police Dept. You know that most police departments are pretty conservative when it comes to politics. Not everybody, though.”
While many law enforcement agencies have broken for Donald Trump, “in my position,” Chief Bixby said, “it is appropriate to stay completely out of politics. I have my views, as everybody does. But it is not a proper subject to talk about.”
