Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 4016 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: JULY 2016 OPINION/EDITORIAL American Police Beat Chairman & Publisher: Cynthia Brown Chief Executive Officer: Sarah Vallee Editor-in-Chief: Mark Nichols Advertising Sales: Dave Quimby Digital Manager: Jeremy Lange Office Assistant: Brendan O’Brien Designer: Karin Henderson Police officers frequently say that one of the things that people don’t get about the job is that cops not only routinely see people at their worst – they also see the worst people. What else can one say about a mother that leaves her kid locked in a hot car to go shop- ping or the drunken father that challenges his own daughter to a gunfight after shots are fired during a domestic dispute. Then there are the bottom-feeders that prey on the weakest – children, the disabled and the elderly. That’s why it’s a good exercise for the soul and our mental health to stop whatever we’re doing and appreciate and mourn Mu- hammad Ali. The problem is that Ali was such a monu- mental human being (some would say more than that) it’s hard to know where to start. There’s no question Ali was the greatest boxer that ever lived. His skills in the ring were complemented by the fact that Ali was the greatest at mind games as well as pugilism. He frequently won fights days before the bout simply by getting into an opponent’s head. Greats like Joe Frazier and George Foreman learned that the hard way. But it’s really Ali the man as opposed to the athlete that should be celebrated. Here was a true man of principle. He stood against the Vietnam War and sacrificed what would have been his prime to do so. He was passionate about almost everything and never let what people might think prevent him from speaking his mind and his heart. Helovedkidsandtheylovedhimrightback. And the “bromance” between Ali and Howard Cosell probably did as much for race relations in this country as anything else. He was kind. He was generous. He was hysterically funny and, as he was often fond of saying “pretty like a girl.” Guys like Ali come along every 100 years or so. Many of us who were lucky enough to see “The Greatest” in action feel privileged to have had that opportunity. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. RIP, champ. Police dogs serve and protect communities just like their human handlers. They also pro- tect police officers. Now it’s important that police officers protect the police K-9s – not from bad guys but from needless death as the result of being left inside vehicles unattended during the hot weather. Police dogs die from heatstroke more than any other non-medical reason, and most of them spend their last moments sweltering in squad cars. At least 46 police dogs across the United States died from heat while locked inside their handlers’ cars in just the last five years. Police officers should be held to a higher standard when it comes to protecting canine partners, says Russ Hess, a retired handler and executive director of the United States Police K9 Association. “We’re only humans, and humans make mistakes, but the responsibility stays with the officer to check on his dog just as if it were his child,” Hess said. Last year was a particularly bad one for heat-related police K-9 deaths and hopefully the issue might start getting some attention. Back in 2013, 10 U.S. Customs and Border Protection dogs died in a transport vehicle while en route to a canine training center in Texas. The air conditioning failed during the trip and the dogs arrived dead. According to Richard McQueary, president of the International Police Working Dog As- sociation, all handlers must be prepared to administer emergency first aid to their partners in hot conditions. “Never give the dog ice,” McQueary says. “Let him drink if he desires, but never force water on him and if necessary get the dog to an emergency vet clinic as fast as possible.” There is no reporting requirement for agen- cies in terms of how many police dogs die from heatstroke every year. That might be a good place to start. But the critical thing for cops, especially young ones, to remember here is that this is not an area where technology can solve the problem. The alarms that are supposed to tell people the A.C. in a vehicle stopped working are about as reliable as the A.C. If you work with a K-9, making sure the dog’s OK is your responsibility and yours alone. In Oklahoma, police officers are getting gear that will allow them to access the bank accounts of anyone they suspect of criminal wrongdoing – without a warrant, criminal charges or much of anything else. For cash-strapped agencies and the ven- dors providing or selling the gear, this is a great idea that makes a ton of sense. Law enforcement needs money and it’s getting increasingly hard to get it through the tra- ditional or “normal” means of yesteryear. From a political perspective and from an “appearances” perspective, this thing’s already a PR nightmare. Every politician with a microphone is tell- ing anyone who will listen that law enforce- ment and big business have teamed up to rob people blind. If that sounds a little over the top, try explaining to anyone outside a position of power in law enforcement why, in addition to being able to seize property and cash without charges, police officers should have direct access to the bank ac- counts of American citizens who have not been charged with a crime. Good luck with that. The greatest of all time More vigilance needed A serious challenge by George Hofstetter It appears that Howard Bryant, a columnist employed by ESPN, is offended by police officers being honored by professional sports teams. In several rants posing as columns and posted by ESPN, he decried teams which donate a portion of ticket proceeds to Police Officer Me- morial Funds, provide discount tickets to first responders to games, or allow officers to sing the national anthem. Why? Because Bryant believes that such actions are “staged patriotism” which signals an “authoritarian shift at the ballpark.” ESPN has willingly given Bryant use of a platform to express his dislike of law enforcement. Last year, Bryant wrote that the “Los Angeles Dodgers pandered to po- lice by holding Law Enforcement Appreciation Night” shortly after the Ferguson riots. He has even claimed that honoring law enforcement at sports events “feeds into the 9/11 hero narrative.” At the game, District Attorney Jackie Lacey and City Attorney Mike Feuer threw out the honorary first pitch while Sheriff Jim McDonnell and Chief Charlie Beck announced the Dodgers’ starting lineup before LAPD Sergeant Alma Burke sang the national anthem. It is ironic Bryant began his latest rant quoting a Chi- cago newspaper and the dollar amount spent settling civil cases alleging police misconduct. A better focus would have been on the rampant wave of violence engulfing the City of Chicago, where a per- son is shot every 2 ½ hours. That city has suffered 268 homicides this year, a staggering 67 in May of this year alone, and 13 more since June 1, not to mention an ad- ditional 1,300 shot since January 1 who did not die. It is the police in Chicago, not cop haters like Bryant, who are called on to investigate and solve the true brutality occurring daily on that city’s blood-soaked streets, while also attempting to keep the peace. Apparently, smearing an entire profession for the ac- tions of a few is fine with Bryant, especially since it fits his obvious anti-cop narrative. However, there is a rea- son the majority of Americans have favorable views of the police and honor their service to their communities – they know law enforcement protects and serves them, and is the thin blue line that ensures law and order. George Hofstetter is President of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs. Haters gonna hate, but Americans love their police