Ed Magos & the Porsche

Stephen Box has a whirlwind of a post up in City Watch, permanently hosted at SoapBoxLA.  It lays out the mistakes that were made by LAPD rank and file in handling a recent hit and run.  Ed Magos, a member of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council, was hit and left for dead by Porsche driver in downtown.  This portion nails it:

Within an hour of the hit-and-run crime that left Ed lying on the street, the LAPD’s Central Traffic Watch Commander referred to the incident as a “Traffic Accident.”

This simple slip of the tongue is professionally irresponsible and demonstrates the desensitization that is so pervasive in our culture.

On what evidence did a Watch Commander determine that it was an accident, especially as he professed that he had not spoken to the investigators nor did he have any information on the incident.

More and more I get the sense that LAPD leadership “gets it”, however, how long is that going to take to percolate down to the men & women on the streets?  If we’ve convinced (some) LAPD leadership that there is a problem, it would seem the next step is persuading those leaders to move aggressively to retrain the department.

And, as regards the woman who hit Magos, got out, looked at him lying on the ground, prone, and then drove away – WHAT THE HELL?!  That is staggering.