A Fitting Resolution : $1.2 Million Would Reward a Crime Victim’s Courage

It would make a fitting and long-awaited reward for a most courageous witness.

That is how a recommendation made on Tuesday by a Los Angeles City Council committee ought to be viewed in the unfortunate case of former North Hollywood theater owner George Carpenter. The council’s budget and finance committee has suggested a $1.2-million award to Carpenter, who was critically wounded after Los Angeles police failed to warn him about a threat that had been made on his life.

Carpenter and a colleague were robbed at gunpoint in 1984 as they were about to deposit the day’s receipts at a San Fernando Valley bank. It was an experience made all the more frightening because one of his assailants said something to the effect of “shoot them anyway,” even after they had relinquished the money.

Before he could testify, Carpenter was critically wounded by a gunman who later turned out to be one of the robbery suspects. The shooting had been an attempt to prevent Carpenter from testifying, and it left him with permanent facial nerve damage and other injuries.

Carpenter changed his name and moved away from California, returning only to testify against his assailant, but there is more to this story.

It turns out that Los Angeles police investigators had learned that the robbery suspect had tried to solicit a contract murder on Carpenter to prevent his testimony. Carpenter was never warned or offered protection.

For that reason, the 2nd District Court of Appeals last year found the city liable for Carpenter’s injuries. In the process, the court rightly said that police officials carried a higher responsibility for warning witnesses about the threats they face for testifying in criminal cases.

Now, City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, wants a report on what the LAPD would do now to warn witnesses. The department should respond promptly to the request. The tale of Carpenter’s courage will inspire other citizens to do their share to fight crime. The LAPD’s failure to warn him discourages such inspiration, and justifies that tidy award.