By David Mendez-Yapkowitz Santa Monica/Los Angeles
After reading the responses to the Q-line question regarding the SMPD’s use of a helicopter (“Readers sound off on all that racket,” March 3-4, page 6), I couldn’t believe how anyone could even suggest that the Daily Press is doing something wrong. The Daily Press is not trying to make the SMPD look bad. The SMPD make themselves look bad. The Daily Press is simply being an unbiased newspaper and reporting on an issue that seldom is covered, specifically community/police relations.
Of course the SMPD is going to have a very high approval rating. In a city dominated by affluent residents, their opinions are all that matter. Of course they approve of the SMPD, they’re not the ones being abused. Their children are not stopped for no reason, no reason at all. A police officer can be just as dangerous a criminal as anybody out on the streets.
I’d also like to thank the Daily Press for being on hand to cover the recent peace rally we had to honor Eddie Lopez, Miguel Martin and all other friends and family members we’ve lost to violence. Thank you for your care and support. It should be mentioned that SMPD Chief Tim Jackman was not present at this event, despite saying he cared about our youth and building a good relationship with the community only a few weeks earlier. Well, he failed the first test. The SMPD officers that did attend effectively alienated themselves and did not interact with anyone. They seemed more concerned about a largely black and Latino crowd causing trouble in an affluent neighborhood rather than lending support to grieving community members.
Lastly, It was nice to read a recent article in the Daily Press about a former gang member coming to speak to some of our youth at Olympic High School. There are countless other stories similar to this one that unfortunately go unreported. It’s people like Joe Aleman that truly make a difference in a young person’s life.
Keep up the good work, Daily Press!
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 16, 2007. Read the original PDF.