Role of LAPD SIS Officers
* I am tried of seeing the LAPD’s Special Investigations Section (SIS) criticized and or called “controversial” in news reports. Your article, “Jury Urged to Convict Robber of Murder in Partner’s Death,” Dec. 11, used this reference every time it made mention of this unit.
These officers deserve our prayers and our praise as they go about one of the most dangerous jobs on the police force outside of SWAT--the apprehension and arrest of some of the most dangerous and violent criminals in society.
There should be nothing controversial about watching a suspect commit an armed felony (which then gives the prosecutor the evidence needed to firmly secure a felony conviction) and then taking them off the streets, either peacefully or in a body bag. I think it’s important to point out that nobody on these special surveillance teams forces any of these street punks to go out and commit a felony. Now that would be “controversial!”
Cautious surveillance during the commission of a felony, so as not to create a hostage situation, doesn’t seem controversial to me.
What is controversial to me is that the powers that be have chosen to reward rather than fight the families of many deceased criminals, by settling frivolous lawsuits out of court, to the tune of millions of our tax dollars, which in the end makes the rest of us pay for their relatives’ crimes . . . twice!
ROBERT BOUGEON
Chatsworth
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