Editorial Comment

To my fellow bloggers,

It has been an interesting journey, one that I have enjoyed tremondously.  When Chief Bratton first proposed the idea of the LAPD Blog, I left his office a bit confused, because I had no idea what a blog was.  However, after a little research, attending a Blogging Conference and a lot of help from Officer Knight and Sean Bonner, together we released the LAPD Blog.  We were one of the first law enforcement agencies in the nation to venture this new road, and we have helped many law enforcement agencies throughout the world to start their own blog. 

It has certainly been fun reading all the various blogger's comments and coordinating the publication of LAPD related articles.  Now my path leads me in a different direction, I have been fortunate enough to  be selected to fill the position as the Department Spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department, an honor that allows me to bring recognition to all the good work the men and women of this Department perform every day. Taking my place as the caretaker of the LAPD Blog is Lt. Mora, who is bringing fresh new ideas and whom I have the most confidence will keep the blog going.

To those dedicated bloggers, please continue to forward your comments. Believe me many people, including LAPD officers and management, read and act upon your ideas, comments, and concerns. 

Lieutenant De La Torre      

Comments

[red head]

Good luck with your new assignment Lt. Joe dela Torre. May the force be with you!

[Conrad]

Good luck at your new position and thanks for this great blog!

[Private Investigator]

Lt., as you now step more into the lens. Keep your gigline straight and your shoes shined. Good luck.

Bill, former LAPD

[Brian Humphrey]

Lieutenant De La Torre,

On behalf of the men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department, please allow me to extend our congratulations on your promotion, and our thanks for your pioneering efforts on the LAPD Blog.

For more than a year, I've watched the Los Angeles Police Department's blog navigate uncharted waters, and do so with purpose, clarity and courage.

Thanks to your tireless efforts, the LAPD Blog remains the benchmark of public safety web logs. It's no small feat, and Chief Bratton can take great pride in his selection of the man to make it happen.

In closing, please allow me to share this, http://www.cbs2.com/video/?id=19841, with your audience, as but a small reminder of how far things have come!

Fraternally Yours in Safety and Service,

Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist (and LAFD blogminder)
Los Angeles Fire Department

[Ed O'Shea]

Good luck to you LT.! But I won't hold my breath for the egomaniacs to follow any of the ideas we have given in this blog. This blog has afforded us to have some say, but we will soon have our own blog and then the department can stand by! We unlike the Department and our union, will be very out spoken and give the readers a true look at the inside of the LAPD. Now that will be both the good and the bad, and we will not pull any punches. We will have commendable cappers listed and tell the people who is really looking out for them, who is looking out for themselves (which is most of the commanders) and who truly has the best intentions for the City of Los Angeles! It will not all be pleasant to read, at least not to the bean counters and boot lickers, but it will be honest and thought provoking! And it will be LAPD/Law Enforcement information only, not an Amber alert site. And to those that think that there are plenty of Officer blogs out there, I say, negative, not ones for our LAPD rank and file to vent, and we need it with the crap we deal with. Anyway my fellow Warriors, the Rant is coming. Again LT. good luck and don't forget us like the others have! Lip service, like what has been paid to us by the others who propose to "Lead" us is one thing but, action is quite another. They have failed us by mearly running that hole under their nose and not making with the goods. Hopefully Brattons next job comes up quick so we can see who's next and if they will really be looking out for this City and our children. Exhale!

Stay Safe Warriors,
Ed O'Shea

[Camilla Cracchiolo]

Welcome Lt. Mora and thank you to Lt. De La Torre for his hard work this last year.

I have a request for the blog. I'd like to see a section where folks like me, who normally have no contact with LEOs, can ask questions.

I have a multitude on things like how police are trained, what medical training you learn and so forth.

I'd also like to see a section called something like: "TV vs. Reality". Example: I'm a regular watcher of CSI, but I somehow doubt that the LAPD can possibly get its DNA results back in 2 hours. (BTW, somebody really should write a forensics lab FAQ.)

I also see TV shows where police must not only spend so many hours target shooting, but must also practice combat shooting courses where various figures pop out and you have to decide in 2 seconds if they are the bad guy or if they are an innocent bystander.

Now, just speaking as a citizen, I'd love to see this kind of training for anyone who carries a gun in public. But does it really happen? Or is it just what TV audiences like to see?

Doubtless, there will be fools who will want to harrass the blog master with junk, and you would have to work harder screening them out, but a well run Q&A, even if you just tell people the LAPD site already has a FAQ, could be great PR and would certainly be a great boon to the regular citizens of the city.

Thanks.

[LAPD Hopeful]

Lt.,
After reading your comments and editorial on nearly a daily basis for months now, I feel much more educated on LAPD and the happenings of the city. This blog is not only good for it's entertainment and awareness value, but information within helped me in the hiring process with LAPD. Thanks to facts and happenings posted here, I aced my oral board interview and decided which division I will be requesting, should the city deem me worthy of hire. Thanks for the service, and for keeping LAPD 1 step ahead of the rest in all they do. Congratulations on the promotion, and good luck.

[Philosophical Cop]

Lt.

Thank you for getting this important blog going. Like you, I think we need to highlight the positive work our men and women do every day. If you would not mind mentioning it, I have a website at the above URL (www.truecopstories.com) that does the same thing by allowing officers to post their stories. They are unedited and anonymous, allowing our women and men to show the world what they do each day. This without any media filter of what to publish and what not to publish. Take care and good luck at the new position.

[Pete malloy]

Good Luck Lieut.

[Gabe]

Lt., you did a great job, and congratulations on your move, which sounds very much like a promotion. You have an opportunity to become the steady voice of your department. No one has done that, really, since Dan Cooke, and your department probably could use someone like that, i.e. a consistent, highly competent voice of integrity who stays in the job for a very long time. Hopefully you'll be that person.

[Loves LA LEOs]

Thank you for all of your help. If I have learned to communicate better, it is to your credit. If there is any service I can do for you that is NOT in front of a camera, please don't hesitate to call on me. Congratulations, best wishes, and stay safe. Always your servant and friend,

[Lyell Burbank]

I am sure this comment will not be posted. But I will write it nonetheless. I and many others believe the LAPD are unlawful, wrong, immoral people who abuse the law they were given the privilage to enforce. They are no no better than any of the gangs or crime they allegedy "prevent."

[Lyell Burbank]

It is painfully obvious how ONE SIDED the LAPD is! Your blog of "discussion" is ALL about the so called "piece officers" and their promotions. WAKE UP! the LAPD is the worst police force in the history of America. the LAPD would not notice justice if it put them behind bars! how pathetic this blog and it is no wonder the LAPD will not post my opinion! I am disgusted!! (PS. criminal justice major)

[Now]

Lyell Burbank,

I couldn't believe your statment. Thank goodness that I don't have you to go to when I need help. Thank goodness that there are still good people wearing the uniform and willing to put their lives on the line even for you. Thanks for your comment and for being so general in your comment. Shame on you.

[Western Vacation]

Lienell:

I'm sure you're one of those people who hate the police, but have to call them all the time to deal with your problems, i.e. baby mama drama.

Do the police a favor. Ignore them and solve your own problems. Call 411, not 911.

Thanks!

[don't understand]

Lyenn,
Just because you are a criminal justice major doesn't make you an authority on LAPD or any other police department. Criminal Justice classes taught at any institution gives you the statistical side of the profession and all the book learning you can buy. If I thought for one moment that your opinion mattered I think I would be more (fill in the blank) but, since your comment comes from someone who is just now learning about criminal justice I can understand why you have taken the position that you have with out ever having worked in the criminal justice field. And by that I mean not only as a law enforcement officer, but probation, courts and so on. So keep your 1st, 2nd or even senior year opinions and run with them. In the mean time keep paying your taxes and help keep my streets safe using LAPD and all the other law enforcement teams out there. Oh and thanks for your post, with out any facts to back it up which comes down to your opinion and you are have that right. And thanks for the great laugh...I needed it this morning.

[Ed O'Shea]

Hey Lyell Burbank.... If we didn't have laws or the laws we have weren't enforced by the LAPD, a malcontent like you would be used as a heavy bag with eyes on a regular basis! Evident by the puke you spewed in this blog, you couldn't control your mouth and that would get you socked up on a regular basis, at least in a lawless city anyway! Something tells me you get your arse kicked on a regular basis anyway though! What an obtuse little ignoramice! Please don't waste my time by dialing 911 when you need the Police, get the number to COPWATCH, put it in your speed dial folder and call those incompitent malcontents instead! What a STAIN!

[Loves LA LEOs]

Ed, they are baiting you. Please don't react. They cannot have your head rent free; shut them out. You have more important things to impart in this venue than vitriol. Yr friend

[Larry]

Lyell, you must not be getting good grades... Don't take your hatred out on us because you are finding yourself not in alignment with your liberal instructors because of a low IQ. It is not our fault!

Lyell, I just got my degree in criminal justice and gradumacated Summa Cum Laude... Kind of funny how every single text book I picked up had LAPD in it. It was also funny that SWAT started in Los Angeles and the way many departments perform their homicide (not homocide) investigations similar to the way LAPD does it. Who told you that LAPD was the worst in the United States? Did you come to that conclusion after your 'opinion' wasn't posted. They probably couldn't understand it after reading the 'no no's, piece officers' and the numerous other spelling erors probably made it impossible to decipher. How about taking your time and writing out your opinion, whether it be inteligent or not, and present your point. Obviously, I hate LAPD is not exactly an inteligent statement and likely not worthy of any extra points for a college project. How about supporting your opinion with some examples... For instance, I pulled out my lighter, which looked like a knife and the officer pointed his gun at me for no reason. Or, the officer pulled me over for speeding and I told him he was full of crap and he was rude to me? Something tangible needs to support your point, otherwise you sound like every other gangmember out there who wants to take a stab at us.