A dog named Max
The viral video is graphic and disturbing. A police stand-off with armed robbery suspects in Hawthorne, CA and residents are filming the encounter on their phones. One man walks closer to the incident to get better pictures accompanied by Max. Max was a 2 year old Rottweiler.
The man, Leon Rosby, put Max into his car. In the video that captured the incident (taken by someone else), there is loud music playing in the background. It is coming from Rosby's car. Rosby walks closer to the stand-off and the police arrest him for interference. As they are handcuffing him, Max gets agitated. Eventually he jumps out of the car window and approaches the officers. One tries to take his leash but Max makes a move toward him.
The officer who shot and killed Max had drawn his pistol before the dog lunged. Hold that thought.
Hawthorne is a crowded city with a population that's mostly minority, with a median income in 2009 of less than $50,000 per household. Per capita income that year was estimated at just over $20,000. With a population that was approaching 85,000 in 2011 there were 1.1 police officers for each 1,000 residents. That's well below the CA state average of 2.4. Unemployment in Hawthorne in August of last year was 14.5% compared to a state average of 10.4%. Crime statistics show that in terms of property crimes, Hawthorne has a much higher rate of these crimes than the U.S. average.
What does all of that mean? It means that in a city where there is a larger than average amount of crime and a police force that's less than half the average size of other California cities, the police department is straining to keep the residents safe.
Hawthorne PD will deny this, but if data were available in this area, I'd wager that they have a much faster average response time to reports of crimes by business than they do from residents. I know this from having worked at a business in Hawthorne on a seasonal basis for five years. If we called, they came and they came quickly.
So who is at fault? Let's start with the police first. If you're engaged in a stand-off with "armed robbery suspects", you establish a perimeter to keep bystanders safe. Not to stop them from recording what you're doing, but to ensure some innocent person doesn't get hit if shooting starts. They'd failed to do this. Maybe it was a case of insufficient manpower. Call for assistance to the nearby jurisdictions, use barricades manned by police explorers, whatever. Keep the people back and keep the people safe.
The officer who shot the dog was involved in an incident in 2006 where a suspect in handcuffs was kicked in the face. Now we don't know which of the six officers involved was the one who kicked the man in the face, breaking his jaw. But that's not the only complaint involving Officer Salmon.
Rather than drawing his pistol, he should have reached for pepper spray or a taser. Non-lethal force was called for here. This is either a case of inadequate training, or simple disregard for the life of a dog. Rosby was in custody and handcuffed. He presented no danger at that point. Only the dog did. The application of pepper spray or a taser could have resolved the situation without the death of Max. If that failed there was still time to draw a pistol.
The officers also failed by allowing Mr. Rosby to get that close to the standoff.
Now as to Mr. Rosby. We will never know his real intent. He pulled up as close to the scene as he could get. He left his car windows down with music playing loudly. Police officers trying to deal with armed suspects don't need loud music as a distraction.
There was no reason to take Max out of the car to begin with. Dogs don't get entertained by watching cops trying to arrest people. Walking, running, playing catch and the like yes. Tagging along while their human attempts to prevent or at least document civil rights violations just isn't their thing.
When Mr. Rosby decided it was best to put Max back in the car, why didn't he roll up the windows so Max couldn't get out? He could have left them cracked enough for air. If the problem is that it was just too hot for a dog to be in a car, why was the dog there in the first place? As a bodyguard for his human? There is just no good reason for a civilian to bring a pet to a stand-off.
I add up all these facts and my conclusion is that Mr. Rosby is between 5% and 15% responsible for what happened to Max. He put him in harm's way. He acted without regard for Max's safety. He had a noble purpose but that doesn't justify what he chose to do with regard to Max.
The police are between 85% and 95% responsible for this tragedy. Bad procedures. Bad training. Bad attitudes (officers were seen giving each other "high-fives" in the video of the man who was cuffed and kicked in the face). I know a number of Hawthorne PD officers. I think highly of most of the ones I know. I also have a very low opinion of others I've encountered.
Being a cop is one of the hardest jobs we have in our society. Their decisions are always second-guessed in detail, at leisure. Decisions that they had to make in a split second. The decision to draw a pistol rather than a taser or pepper gas was just wrong. Yes, the safety of the officer is paramount. There's a phrase in law enforcement. "Minimum force necessary" means using only that force required to subdue the suspect while ensuring the safety of the officer, the suspect and any bystanders. More than the minimum necessary force was used here, with tragic results. An outside investigation is warranted.
* * *
Water weight is a funny thing. I hate weighing myself, but my cardiologist finally drove home how important it is to check daily. I weigh myself at the same moment every day, wearing the same clothing and having not yet eaten. Consistency is the only way to track this accurately. Yesterday when I weighed myself, I was four pounds heavier than the day before. That's a big swing. It might have contributed to why I wasn't doing well yesterday.
Today those four pounds are gone. I'm back where I was. It isn't the scale. I have a highly accurate, digital scale that is self-calibrating (it should be accurate, it was expensive). I'm trying to limit my fluid intake as per doctor's orders but it is especially difficult in this weather. Since my inability to play trivia last night actually cost me my share of a good prize, there's even more motivation to keep healthy so I don't miss the next payoff.
I was going to rush out and see "The Lone Ranger", but the negative buzz about the film has me thinking I might as well wait until Friday. Crowds won't be as bad at a bargain matinee on Friday, or even Saturday. Then again, I'm entitled to two free tickets to go see "White House Down" on July 4th. Maybe I'll go grab those and sneak into "The Lone Ranger". Would that be truly unethical?
I had to go out to my car to get something from the trunk and noticed my double-ball bowling bag under some stuff. I was looking at the current bowling ball technology yesterday. I have two balls in my bag, one I bought in the summer of 1985 and the other I bought in 1973. They're pretty much obsolete if I were to want to bowl competitively in 2013. But I'll never get rid of those two. They scored a whole bunch of strikes in their day.
* * *
Random ponderings:
Why will "The Lone Ranger" bring in 'only' $70 million or so for its first weekend? Negative reviews, re-telling a classic story and making the sidekick the central focus?
Should I be pleased or distressed that I had no idea who Heather Dubrow was until I saw her on Good Day L.A. this morning?
What would it take to get the entertainment media to stop covering which celebrity or celebrity-spouse has gotten someone's name tattooed on them?
Do people who live in Dallas and Houston really think offering Dwight Howard vast quantities of free food if he signs with their city's NBA team will have any impact on his decision?
Is the modeling agency that fired a Big Brother contestant for her racist and homophobic comments on an episode of the show doing the right thing? (yes they are)
Did you know what I just learned, driving at 75 mph versus 55 mph can cost you a reduction of 10 to 14 miles per gallon? A Honda Accord LX will get 49 mpg at 55, 42 mpg at 65 and 35 mpg at 75.
This Date in History:
On this date in 1035, William the Conqueror becomes the Duke of Normandy.
On this date in 1608, Quebec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain.
On this date in 1775, George Washington takes command of the Continental Army.
On this date in 1819, the Bank of Savings, the nation's first savings bank, opens in NYC.
On this date in 1852, the U.S. establishes a second mint, at San Francisco, CA.
On this date in 1884, Dow Jones publishes its first stock average.
On this date in 1890, Idaho is admitted as the 43rd state.
On this date in 1979, President Jimmy Carter signs the first director for secret aid to the Afghan rebels fighting against the Soviet Union.
On this date in 1988, the USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655, killing all 290 people aboard.
On this date in 1994, 46 people die in traffic accidents in Texas, worst such day in the state's history.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Louis XI of France
Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan
Claude Fauchet
George M. Cohan
Franz Kafka
Raymond Spruance
Dorothy Kilgallen
Ken Russell
Tom Stoppard
Lamar Alexander
Gloria Allred
Michael Cole (the guy on "Mod Squad", not the jerk on "WWE Raw")
Bolo Yeung
Johnny Lee
Betty Buckley
Jan Smithers
Jean-Claude Duvalier ("Baby Doc")
Laura Branigan
Ken Ober
Hunter Tylo
Yeardley Smith
Connie Nielsen
Brian Cashman
Julian Assange
Olivia Munn
Movie quotes today come from 1988's "Bloodsport" in honor of it being Bolo Yeung's birthday:
Jackson: Time to separate the men from the boys.
Victor: Just be sure Chong Li doesn't separate your head from your body.
#2
Ray Jackson: Aren't you a little young for full-contact?
Frank Dux: Aren't you a little old for videogames?
#3
[Frank is doing splits between two chairs]
Jackson: That hurts me just lookin' at it.
The man, Leon Rosby, put Max into his car. In the video that captured the incident (taken by someone else), there is loud music playing in the background. It is coming from Rosby's car. Rosby walks closer to the stand-off and the police arrest him for interference. As they are handcuffing him, Max gets agitated. Eventually he jumps out of the car window and approaches the officers. One tries to take his leash but Max makes a move toward him.
The officer who shot and killed Max had drawn his pistol before the dog lunged. Hold that thought.
Hawthorne is a crowded city with a population that's mostly minority, with a median income in 2009 of less than $50,000 per household. Per capita income that year was estimated at just over $20,000. With a population that was approaching 85,000 in 2011 there were 1.1 police officers for each 1,000 residents. That's well below the CA state average of 2.4. Unemployment in Hawthorne in August of last year was 14.5% compared to a state average of 10.4%. Crime statistics show that in terms of property crimes, Hawthorne has a much higher rate of these crimes than the U.S. average.
What does all of that mean? It means that in a city where there is a larger than average amount of crime and a police force that's less than half the average size of other California cities, the police department is straining to keep the residents safe.
Hawthorne PD will deny this, but if data were available in this area, I'd wager that they have a much faster average response time to reports of crimes by business than they do from residents. I know this from having worked at a business in Hawthorne on a seasonal basis for five years. If we called, they came and they came quickly.
So who is at fault? Let's start with the police first. If you're engaged in a stand-off with "armed robbery suspects", you establish a perimeter to keep bystanders safe. Not to stop them from recording what you're doing, but to ensure some innocent person doesn't get hit if shooting starts. They'd failed to do this. Maybe it was a case of insufficient manpower. Call for assistance to the nearby jurisdictions, use barricades manned by police explorers, whatever. Keep the people back and keep the people safe.
The officer who shot the dog was involved in an incident in 2006 where a suspect in handcuffs was kicked in the face. Now we don't know which of the six officers involved was the one who kicked the man in the face, breaking his jaw. But that's not the only complaint involving Officer Salmon.
Rather than drawing his pistol, he should have reached for pepper spray or a taser. Non-lethal force was called for here. This is either a case of inadequate training, or simple disregard for the life of a dog. Rosby was in custody and handcuffed. He presented no danger at that point. Only the dog did. The application of pepper spray or a taser could have resolved the situation without the death of Max. If that failed there was still time to draw a pistol.
The officers also failed by allowing Mr. Rosby to get that close to the standoff.
Now as to Mr. Rosby. We will never know his real intent. He pulled up as close to the scene as he could get. He left his car windows down with music playing loudly. Police officers trying to deal with armed suspects don't need loud music as a distraction.
There was no reason to take Max out of the car to begin with. Dogs don't get entertained by watching cops trying to arrest people. Walking, running, playing catch and the like yes. Tagging along while their human attempts to prevent or at least document civil rights violations just isn't their thing.
When Mr. Rosby decided it was best to put Max back in the car, why didn't he roll up the windows so Max couldn't get out? He could have left them cracked enough for air. If the problem is that it was just too hot for a dog to be in a car, why was the dog there in the first place? As a bodyguard for his human? There is just no good reason for a civilian to bring a pet to a stand-off.
I add up all these facts and my conclusion is that Mr. Rosby is between 5% and 15% responsible for what happened to Max. He put him in harm's way. He acted without regard for Max's safety. He had a noble purpose but that doesn't justify what he chose to do with regard to Max.
The police are between 85% and 95% responsible for this tragedy. Bad procedures. Bad training. Bad attitudes (officers were seen giving each other "high-fives" in the video of the man who was cuffed and kicked in the face). I know a number of Hawthorne PD officers. I think highly of most of the ones I know. I also have a very low opinion of others I've encountered.
Being a cop is one of the hardest jobs we have in our society. Their decisions are always second-guessed in detail, at leisure. Decisions that they had to make in a split second. The decision to draw a pistol rather than a taser or pepper gas was just wrong. Yes, the safety of the officer is paramount. There's a phrase in law enforcement. "Minimum force necessary" means using only that force required to subdue the suspect while ensuring the safety of the officer, the suspect and any bystanders. More than the minimum necessary force was used here, with tragic results. An outside investigation is warranted.
* * *
Water weight is a funny thing. I hate weighing myself, but my cardiologist finally drove home how important it is to check daily. I weigh myself at the same moment every day, wearing the same clothing and having not yet eaten. Consistency is the only way to track this accurately. Yesterday when I weighed myself, I was four pounds heavier than the day before. That's a big swing. It might have contributed to why I wasn't doing well yesterday.
Today those four pounds are gone. I'm back where I was. It isn't the scale. I have a highly accurate, digital scale that is self-calibrating (it should be accurate, it was expensive). I'm trying to limit my fluid intake as per doctor's orders but it is especially difficult in this weather. Since my inability to play trivia last night actually cost me my share of a good prize, there's even more motivation to keep healthy so I don't miss the next payoff.
I was going to rush out and see "The Lone Ranger", but the negative buzz about the film has me thinking I might as well wait until Friday. Crowds won't be as bad at a bargain matinee on Friday, or even Saturday. Then again, I'm entitled to two free tickets to go see "White House Down" on July 4th. Maybe I'll go grab those and sneak into "The Lone Ranger". Would that be truly unethical?
I had to go out to my car to get something from the trunk and noticed my double-ball bowling bag under some stuff. I was looking at the current bowling ball technology yesterday. I have two balls in my bag, one I bought in the summer of 1985 and the other I bought in 1973. They're pretty much obsolete if I were to want to bowl competitively in 2013. But I'll never get rid of those two. They scored a whole bunch of strikes in their day.
* * *
Random ponderings:
Why will "The Lone Ranger" bring in 'only' $70 million or so for its first weekend? Negative reviews, re-telling a classic story and making the sidekick the central focus?
Should I be pleased or distressed that I had no idea who Heather Dubrow was until I saw her on Good Day L.A. this morning?
What would it take to get the entertainment media to stop covering which celebrity or celebrity-spouse has gotten someone's name tattooed on them?
Do people who live in Dallas and Houston really think offering Dwight Howard vast quantities of free food if he signs with their city's NBA team will have any impact on his decision?
Is the modeling agency that fired a Big Brother contestant for her racist and homophobic comments on an episode of the show doing the right thing? (yes they are)
Did you know what I just learned, driving at 75 mph versus 55 mph can cost you a reduction of 10 to 14 miles per gallon? A Honda Accord LX will get 49 mpg at 55, 42 mpg at 65 and 35 mpg at 75.
This Date in History:
On this date in 1035, William the Conqueror becomes the Duke of Normandy.
On this date in 1608, Quebec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain.
On this date in 1775, George Washington takes command of the Continental Army.
On this date in 1819, the Bank of Savings, the nation's first savings bank, opens in NYC.
On this date in 1852, the U.S. establishes a second mint, at San Francisco, CA.
On this date in 1884, Dow Jones publishes its first stock average.
On this date in 1890, Idaho is admitted as the 43rd state.
On this date in 1979, President Jimmy Carter signs the first director for secret aid to the Afghan rebels fighting against the Soviet Union.
On this date in 1988, the USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655, killing all 290 people aboard.
On this date in 1994, 46 people die in traffic accidents in Texas, worst such day in the state's history.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Louis XI of France
Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan
Claude Fauchet
George M. Cohan
Franz Kafka
Raymond Spruance
Dorothy Kilgallen
Ken Russell
Tom Stoppard
Lamar Alexander
Gloria Allred
Michael Cole (the guy on "Mod Squad", not the jerk on "WWE Raw")
Bolo Yeung
Johnny Lee
Betty Buckley
Jan Smithers
Jean-Claude Duvalier ("Baby Doc")
Laura Branigan
Ken Ober
Hunter Tylo
Yeardley Smith
Connie Nielsen
Brian Cashman
Julian Assange
Olivia Munn
Movie quotes today come from 1988's "Bloodsport" in honor of it being Bolo Yeung's birthday:
Jackson: Time to separate the men from the boys.
Victor: Just be sure Chong Li doesn't separate your head from your body.
#2
Ray Jackson: Aren't you a little young for full-contact?
Frank Dux: Aren't you a little old for videogames?
#3
[Frank is doing splits between two chairs]
Jackson: That hurts me just lookin' at it.
posted by me at 10:30 AM
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