Breaking...Former L.A. Police Chief Gates Has Died

[rsmith6621]

...PER MSNBC.

....no information/link yet...

[Lance_Boyle]

1. _

:nopity:

[Flaneur]

2. The man who brought us paramilitary policing (SWAT).

My mom said if you can't say something good...so I have nothing to say.

[izquierdista]

4. And D.A.R.E.

Who could forget that marvelous program that brought an end to drug use? :silly:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

10. Gates was an interesting mix

He tried to be innovative but many of his initiatives failed. His verbal malaprops were worse than Bush's. He modernized the LAPD and made it credible. However, there is was a lot of inertia he could not over come, and the national cop culture is beyond any one chiefs control. All in all I think he made things better, he wasn't stellar, but things could have been so much worse.

[ljm2002]

12. Or you could take a page out of Bette Davis' book...

...when she heard that Joan Crawford had died: "My mother said to only speak good of the dead. Joan Crawford has died. Good."

:-)

[hlthe2b]

3. I hope his form of policing might pass into the night with him

Kind thoughts for his family...

[WeDidIt]

5. You know what they say about saying something nice

...

[Iggo]

6. Good riddance.

---> pissing on his grave icon goes here <---

[political_Dem]

7. I agree that it's best not to say anything at all--especially when it involves such a man as he.

But, I will say that a lot of folks have a long memory of his "legacy" in the same vein as Jesse Helms, Strom Thurmond, George Wallace and Jerry Falwell.

[asdjrocky]

8. The man who brought us the chock hold.

May he rest in peace.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

9. False as to fact

The carotid holds have been around for centuries. They have been a basic part of judo for many years

[asdjrocky]

11. Perhaps I should have said he brought a centruies old judo hold

to the LAPD. Better?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. According to peope I know who were in the department at the time, it was an attempt to use less

injurious methods for restraining people. Clearly it failed in operational use.

[asdjrocky]

14. That's what they say about tasers now.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

15. Indeed, well intended concept that is failing in operational employment