officers - The Black Vault

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and there's the chief telling it :likl:l~·
it is. ·
"When Gates said that Mexicans:;_
are 'lazy,' you heard the guys
.talking among themselves and
saying, 'Well, how many Mexicans­
'have you seen that you'd want to :;
promote?' That sort of stuff go& ::
on · t 1:
. ~_.,t
"Gates has a lot of support in the
rank and file. He is personable, fair,
and very s4pportive. He is perso~:- ~
ally very·well thought of. Th~re (s.
a lot of grousing about manage:-7
ment, but it doesn't extend to 'hiffi: ·J
It's like h~'s above that. But peopl~;:
in upper-middle managel)lent donlf'.
always give Gates a full dose bf'·
reality, and the failure to do some=
thing about that is the chief's reAl~·
problem."
'"
The .other officer agreed an"W:
speculated that the · tone set by"
Gates' comments might have had-a·:
particular resonance in the Foothill~
Division. "It's sort of like a cowbob
division," he said. "They're kind of
out of the mainstream." .. :,~:
There is another essential differ~.,
ence between the Rodney King_.
incident and those that have gone:·
before: Out in the ·streets, awa:Y.·
from the bunker mentality qf?'
Parker Center, there is a sense that:
if the chief has to -resort to civiC
service protection to save his joo:,
he will have won hothing but his'
own survival. · · :': ,.
I asked the officers whether-:
they, like the.city officials to whom ·
I spoke, believe Gates ought to
resign. "There's nothing Gat~s ·
likes better than a good fig}ft," o11e ·
said. "He's no~ going to. roll over, ·
especially not if he thinks he's ,got :·
some support. 'The only way ·l(e
·would leave is if he thought the
department· itself was _taking la
'beating and that 'it wo~ld blow ov~r ·
if .he left. Then, I think he would .
go.:· . . ·:
. .
Is that the case? "I'm afraid it is!"
"My wife,·" the other officer said, ·
. ·~asked me this· same questiO:n
.when I got home. I told her ;l I
thought the chief should step down
: 'because 'I'm afraid he's lost nis
effectiveness.:• t ·
! .
Those are voices even Darifl
Gates cannot afford to ignore. M­
ter four decades of attention .to
duty, he has-one final obligation:-
.to tender his resignation. . .: