Racial Violent in Los Angeles

Los Angeles Racial Violence. I’ve talked to some of my friends about this in the past. It is a serious concern that I have. The LA Times website has an article up today ( “Bratton and Baca disagree on role of race in gang violence”, June 13, Andrew Blankstein and Joel Rubin). I lean towards Baca’s thinking of our current situation – though as is mentioned in the article, Bratton may also have the same belief, but a different political approach:

Los Angeles' two top lawmen are increasingly at odds over the extent to which gang violence is being fueled by racial hatred.Police Chief William J. Bratton and his top deputies have long cautioned that race-motivated violence remains fairly rare and that gang feuds over turf and drugs are the leading causes of such violence.

But over the last few months, Sheriff Lee Baca has publicly voiced a more ominous view of violence between Latino and black gangs. This week, he went further than ever, saying in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece that "some of L.A.'s so-called gangs are really no more than loose-knit bands of blacks or Latinos roaming the streets looking for people of the other color to shoot."Baca's comments have prompted debate in law enforcement circles -- with some Los Angeles Police Department officials questioning some of his assertions."The sheriff is saying we need to examine this issue in the light of day to keep it from spreading because we won't be able to address or reverse it, if we deny it," said civil rights attorney Connie Rice. "Chief Bratton is saying something equally valid, which is if you overemphasize race, you may be pouring jet fuel on the fire."

. . .

The issue has been particularly sensitive for Bratton and his command staff in recent months.Faced with a serious rise in the homicide rate in the early part of the year and several high-profile killings, Bratton, [LAPD Deputy Chief] Beck and others battled media reports and public perception that the violence was racially motivated. In one instance, Bratton angrily confronted a television news reporter who challenged the chief's stance on the issue. Bratton's assertion that the high number of killings was an anomaly has been largely borne out as the homicide rate has fallen significantly in recent months.

"It's important that people be well informed when they are forming their opinions about crime in the city," Beck said. "What we don't want to happen is for them to draw conclusions that then become the reality."

. . .

Rice said that although Baca and Bratton are looking at black-Latino violence through a different set of lenses, they are both correct in how they view the problem.The sheriff is looking at high-profile but scattered cases of violence in which race was a motive and is saying "something must be done to address it immediately," Rice said. But Bratton doesn't want police to create a self-fulfilling prophecy by stoking fears of racially motivated violence, she said.In essence, Bratton and Baca are warning about two dangers of the same issue, one of overplaying it, and the other of underplaying it, Rice said.