Bell police memo outlines 'baseball game' targeting drivers The memo calls parking tickets 'singles,' impounds 'doubles' and felony arrests 'home runs.' It's not clear if administrators condoned the memo. February 28, 2011|By Ruben Vives and Jeff Gottlieb, Los Angeles Times A memo discovered in files of the Bell Police Department appears to outline a game in which police officers would compete to issue tickets, impound cars and arrest motorists. Titled the "Bell Police Department Baseball Game," the memo assigns "singles," "doubles," "triples" and "home runs" to progressively more serious infractions, starting with parking tickets and moving up to impounded vehicles and felony arrests. "Non performers," the memo said, would be "sent for minor league rehab stint."
The discovery of the memo comes as the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Bell police violated the civil rights of residents through improper towing of cars and code enforcement activities. Part of the investigation focuses on claims by some police officers that the department had quotas for issuing tickets and impounding cars. The officers say the enforcement actions were aimed at raising revenue for the city. Some officers have said they were reprimanded when they did not meet their goals.
The one-page document, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, is the first to provide written evidence of a concerted effort to have officers pull over more cars, although it's unclear who wrote the memo or whether department officials had condoned it.
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office said prosecutors received the document last week and have launched an investigation. Prosecutors already have charged eight current and former Bell officials with public corruption, including former City Administrator Robert Rizzo, who earned more than $800,000 a year.
The memo and the alleged game could also play a role in the continuing debate over the future of Bell's Police Department. The city faces a daunting budget problem, and some officials have suggested closing the department and contracting with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to save money. The police, however, are major backers of some candidates running for the Bell City Council in next week's election.
Two Bell police officials said they were familiar with the memo, which they said had circulated a few years ago. Capt. Anthony Miranda said he thought a few patrolmen wrote the memo "to challenge themselves" and that when department leaders found out about it, they "squashed it." http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/28/local/la-me-03-01-bell-baseball-20110301
Poster Comment:
This is precisely why everyone should fight their revenue tickets. None of it is for ''keeping you safe''. that is a nonsensical myth.