Saturday, August 10, 2002
| A modest group of concerned Inglewood residents, civic leaders and political candidates gathered at a Citywide Town Hall Meeting to engage in a stimulating and meaningful discussion about the recent events that received national coverage in the media. |
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| Saturday’s meeting lacked the tense, “bussed-in” carnival-like atmosphere of an affair held a few weeks earlier at Morningside High School. That event, which was sponsored by The Brotherhood Crusade, was observed by some critics to be a “gathering of outsiders” with a noticeable “We Hit The Lottery” attitude that was bolstered by the star-appearance of the Jackson family and their high-profile lawyer, Johnny Cochran. | |
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| Detective Neil Murray, President of the Inglewood Police Association spoke and shared his organization’s concerns regarding the recent spate of draconian measures that have been announced by City Hall and which may violate State Laws and the collective bargaining agreements between the police and the city. |
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The meeting also focused on Mayor Dorn’s ordinance calling for a Citizen Police Review Board which was on the Agenda for the August 13th Council Meeting. Most panel members felt the ordinance was hastily written and needed more input and development. A number of speakers were bothered by the current administration’s approach that appears to pit the residents against the police. However, most shared a common theme. They wondered, after reading articles reporting Inglewood with a “backlog” of over a hundred unresolved citizen complaints against the police, if this wasn’t a clear indication that our current administration was “asleep at the wheel?” |
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Councilwoman Dunlap echoes many of the sentiments shared by the audience. Further, the Councilwoman said she was against any measure that would grant Mayor Dorn the sole authority to appoint members to the commission, and would provide the City Administrator sole powers to decide punishment. She said this as an unwise action that could be likened to the government allowing Enron executives and their Anderson accountants to be the sole authority to audit and ratify their own financial misdeeds! |
Further inquiries can be forwarded to:
Councilwoman Judy Dunlap
(310) 677-5040 - Fax (310) 677-4870
Email: judy@judydunlap.org