LAPD’s Response to the Riot
Mayor Bradley has stated that he and Chief Gates did not speak to one another for the 13 months prior to the riots (May 5). Is it any wonder then that there was no organized plan either to soften the shock of the disgraceful verdict or combat the outbreak of violence?
The mayor has said that “no one focused on a finding of not guilty. Nobody ever thought in their wildest dreams that that would be possible.”
The chief was attending a political fund-raiser while motorists were being pulled from their cars and beaten because he “had a commitment.”
Clearly, one of the biggest problems in this city is lack of leadership. Both Bradley and Gates displayed a fatal inability to evaluate the seriousness of the situation. Further, their childish grudge kept them from communicating when they should have been planning.
People died, in part because the mayor and the chief of police were mad at each other. This is not only grossly irresponsible, it is unspeakable.
I call for their immediate resignations.
PAT SKIPPER, Altadena
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