A new report focusing on the Canine Special Detail of the LA Sherriff’s Department (LASD) has uncovered a vast increase in the number of minority individuals bitten by police dogs since 2004.
And in the first six months of this year, every single victim of a bite by a LASD dog was African-American or Latino.The data was published in a new report by the Police Assessment Resource Centre (Parc), a Los Angeles-based non-profit organisation, devoted to “advancing effective and accountable policing”.
According to Parc records, the number of Latino individuals bitten by LASD canines went up 30 per cent between 2004 and 2012, from 30 to 39 bites. The number of African-Americans bitten increased by 33 per cent over the same period.
Meanwhile, police dog bites caused injuries at a much higher rate than alternative deterrents such as batons, tear gas and even guns. “Large swathes of LASD’s jurisdiction, encompassing generally affluent areas with smaller minority populations, had few [canine] deployments or bites,” the Parc report states.
“Crime rates are lower in these areas, but the stark disparity leads us to wonder why canine deployments seem to occur disproportionately in less affluent areas with larger minority populations.” During the period covered in the report, the largely black or Latino areas of Century, City of Industry, Compton, Lakewood and South LA/Lennox suffered more dog bites than all of LASD’s other 21 districts combined.
I have to admit, I am not like every other teenager/college student who works some part-time job at a big chain supermarket or fast food restaurant. No, those are all too boring, they all lack thrill, and are so unoriginal that I’d just blend right in with the crowd. You see when I’m not here contributing to Ezkool or playing video games, I’m out promoting for a club. There’s no polite way to say it so I just will be blunt…I promote for a “Gentlemen’s” Club. While it might not pay so well, perhaps $80-$100 a week, it has provided me with some of my most interesting nights out I’ve ever had. Take Sunday night for example as it was the oddest night I’ve had.
I’ve always loved being “different”
My night started by getting the same old flyers from my promoter, Gucci (yes like the brand), at the club I promote for. I walked into as usual looking around and once again looking completely out of my element but whatever. I asked the bouncer where my promoter is and he pointed right up the stairs and up I went. I took a seat at the bar right next to him as we just decided to chat about whatever for a little.
“Hey Gucci, Babe. You want a drink? How about you Jeremy Lin?” asked the bartender. We both passed and just went talking about business; I was supposed to hit a place called The Palace tonight and with that information I was out on my way with a bag of 300 plus flyers.
I can totally see how I look like Jeremy Lin
I got to The Palace around midnight and just went about putting flyers on cars and talking to whoever I saw walking right on by; I soon found myself in the parking lot right across from The Palace. A previous night handing out flyers taught me that promoting in front of another club is a big “no-no” and this night was no different. A police officer approached me asking what I was doing, though I’m sure he had a very good idea exactly what. Thankfully the rowdy crowd outside the door of the club got his attention as he told me to just buzz off and he quickly ran back. I can happily say that every car in that lot had a flyer from me on it by the end of the night.
I continued on just putting flyers on the cars in the area until I ran into a woman outside her house smoking.
“What are you handing out child?” She asked.
“Flyers” I responded noticing she was missing some teeth. “For a club I promote for. Did I put one on your car by accident?”
“Oh no my car’s out back. Hand me one and go about your way”. I gladly complied and just went on back to my car and on my way home.
Of course to top it all off, a visit from my town’s Police Department. Keep reading!
I was about ten minutes from home when I realized I still had a nice amount of flyers left to hand out. I’d hate to bring stuff like that home especially after I’ve busted my butt tonight so I decided to go to an apartment/condo complex near my home. It was around 1 am, I had parked my car and started walking around the area putting flyers in-car windows. A woman walking her dog approached me as I was near the end of my stroll; I gave her dog a good scratch on its head and looked at her. Oh..my..gosh the look she gave me was as if I had just committed a horrible crime in front of her and smiled. On that note I quickly finished placing the last flyers and got back into my car, next thing I know I’m greeted by two police cruisers.
“Hey there! Can you just hold up turning your car on for a second?” Asked one officer as he drove up right beside me. “I just have a few questions to ask you.”
I sunk in my chair and prayed I wasn’t in some sort of trouble. He calmly asked me as to what business I had out at that time of night to which I explained to him my job, his partner went to go check out the cars to see if my story checked out.
“Yep. It’s all legit” He told his partner. “So what club are you even promoting for?”
“Hi-Beams sir.” We had a friendly conversation about the club and even the officers past experiences there. Before they sent me on my way I asked them who had called them on me.
“Oh some woman said she saw you while she was walking her dog. She thought you were checking door handles or something.” I laughed the entire way home.
It was past 2am when I finally got to lie down in my bed from an odd but eventful night. I didn’t like having the police called on me, but it was a key part to a very interesting night.
Our Constitution demands the freedom of religion in these the United States of America. Are these just words written on a document that many considers sacred? Or is it just another one of our rights that Conservative Christian Americans would prefer to eradicate?
Below, two different religions clash infront of the White House. One Muslim man tries to pray, and is surrounded by those of the ‘Christian’ faith.
I wonder if the Founding Fathers would approve of this scene.
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