If complications don’t arise in the next three weeks, the 600 or so LAPD officers assigned to gang and narcotics details will be required to fill out a financial accountability sheet on an annual basis, starting two years from Jan. 16.
The department long has been under a cloud of found and suspected corruption, which is why it has operated under direction from the federal government..
Ever since the Los Angeles Police Commission voted unanimously last Thursday to comply with a requirement of the federal consent decree, under which the department has operated for seven years, the howls of protest have been heard in every area of Los Angeles County. They claim their privacy is being fractured.
Quiet in Culver City
A sound of sympathy was not heard, however, from Culver City, where a similar policy is in place — with one major exception.
The annual financial disclosure requirement at the Police Dept. in Culver City applies to the upper end of the department — officers of lieutenant rank and above.
Capt. Scott Bixby, who marks his 28th year with the department in January, is one of the approximately 18 officers affected by the policy that is intended to expose any conflict of interest.
“I understand that the L.A. officers feel this policy change is a slippery slope,” Capt. Bixby told the newspaper this morning.
‘No Big Deal’
“But I don’t think this is a big deal at all. That is just my opinion.
“I have got nothing to hide.
“Most guys view (the requirement) as a hassle. And, as I said, I understand how the L.A. guys feel.”
The president of the police union, the Los Angeles Protective League, has not been nearly as prosaic as Capt. Bixby. Not only has the union filed suit to prevent implementation, union President Tim Sands has counseled his officer in he drug and gang units to demand a transfer or threaten to quit.
For most affected LAPD officers, they still have quite awhile to get their affairs in order. Present officers will not be required to respond until early in 2010. Officers who join the gang or narcotics details after Jan. 16 will have 10 days to file financial disclosure papers.
