Flat Reaction to Officers’ Volatile Accusations — Department Shrugs

A ranking member of the Culver City department criticized the tactics of the complaining officers. “I never have liked the approach where you throw a whole bunch of charges against the wall and hope some of them stick,” he said. “They would have had a better chance if they had taken what they thought were the most serious accusations and run with them. Go with your best evidence. Leave the little ones behind. I don’t know why they did this in the first place. My reaction was, ‘Yeah, okay, whatever.’” A retired member of the department, who tangled furiously with its leadership, agreed with the motives of the complaining officers. But he sided with his former comrades who merely shrugged at the news. “There are problems,” he said. “They are right about that. The guys who filed the complaint are well-intentioned. But I don’t think it is going any farther than this.” The filing officer who acknowledged his pessimism over the flat reaction said “it’s more of the same old Culver City attitude. They think, ‘If we don’t address it, there is no problem.’ I mean, if you commit a crime but you’re not caught, does that mean you are not a criminal? C’mon. I don’t know what they will do if the Grand Jury decides our charges are true. I imagine it will be something like, ‘Now what do we do?’”

Postscript

He was asked if the broadly skeptical response in the seat of the accusations will influence the Grand Jury as it decides whether to pursue an investigation. “Having tried to get people’s attention for a long time,” he said, “I have learned not to have expectations. This is just a shame.” As he started to walk away, he gave a warning. “Unless the city’s attitude changes, eventually something will happen. And someone will have to answer for it.”