Contemplating the Isla Vista Foot Patrol

Handcuffing and knocking the legs out of an innocent taxpayer is simply unacceptable. Too bad Lt. Olmstead didn't acknowledge that. It is good to have a generous attitude toward the deputies; they have a hard job. I don't think cuffing and toppling innocent taxpayers makes their job any easier, however.

IV is a unique town that calls for a unique style of policing. Not this "paramilitary" bullying that has plagued the town over the years. Think outside the box IVFP! There are other ways. It's called community policing. Maybe if you get to know the people and surroundings, then the students will respect and possibly help you.

AShaw I have to finally disagree with you. And trust me, it pains me to do so.

The original idea of policing is to offer a public service with an element of "Public Servitude".

If I were to initiate a dialogue with you by sweeping out your legs, cuffing you, and forcing you to sit down, I'm not going to get the desired response and respect from you that I want. If I approach you in a manner consistent with mutual respect, I am much more likely to get the answers I need in a timely fashion. The "Paramilitary" approach should be reserved for the "next level" with an uncooperative or unruly subject.

There's not enough time in my day to really discuss this subject as I feel it should be discussed. And I would actually like to continue a dialogue with you AShaw because I think we could find a common ground here. But duty calls and I have to go back to work.

I believe that this style of policing that has been going on for decades will at one point need to be seriously re-examined.

I have heard more and more lately about the public's dissatisfaction with our local Sheriff's department.
I know a group of local attorneys and citizens that are starting a non-profit called C.A.A.P.(Citizens Against Aggressive Policing). Look for a website coming this summer.

You can only push the law abiding, tax paying citizens around for so long. And then they'll push back.

To those good, truly dedicated, public serving police officers out there, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!! You have no idea how much you stand out from the rest of the pack.

Bu

The general rule is that if law enforcement tells you to do something, whether you're guilty of anything or not, then you must comply with their orders. They detain people (handcuffing them and making them sit down) until they can assess the situation to make sure there isn't an imminent threat or any criminal activity going on. If you don't do what you're told, they will use force.
Simple solution....do what you're told, answer their questions without sarcasm and do whatever else is needed to clear up the situation as quickly as possible.

Interesting story! As a 20+ year resident of I.V. (living on the 6600 block of Sueno) I have to say that even though I did/still do my share of jackass behavior, I've NEVER had a negative run-in w/ the IVFP during my tenure.
My friends & me launched our share of waterballons, illegal/homemade fireworks, got in Super Soaker wars, played in LOUD bands, fired off potato cannons, chased each other around town on beach cruisers & skateboards, drank to excess, etc.
The thing is these days there's that "sense of entitlement" that many of I.V.'s residents seem to feel. This entitles them to trash your place, because after all, it's I.V. & nobody cares, right?
A couple of weeks ago I popped some guy across the snout for trying to take a surfboard off my front porch.
Can't tell you how many times the paintball firing device has had to make an appearance.
Look, I don't care if people party. Go ahead, kill a few brain cells! But PLEASE don't expect to trash or steal what little I have based on a theoretical premise that laws don't exist in I.V.
I even had someone once say that my wife & me shouldn't live in I.V. because we're too old & I.V. is all about parties.
I asked him if a Black or Latino family moved into his lily-white neighborhood would he & his neighbors try to keep them out?
The answer was a hypocritical no, which I gladly pointed said hypocrisy out & told him that barring "older" people from a neighborhood is just as bad as barring them by using race.
So much for the liberal-mindedness of today's tolerant youth. But hey, it's all about entitlement, right? Mommy & daddy said it's alright, therefore it must be :) henry

Thank god for hank! It is ridiculous that the kids in IV feel that they should do anything but respect the authority of Law Enforcement! Those of you who feel that you should challenge authority, or question the Police or form a "watchdog" group are just nuts!

Do you honestly think that IV Cops are out ther violating people's civil rights? These guys get more "f you's", urine, feces and beer thrown at them, kids puking on their boots and 20 year old 'a' holes wanting to fight them in one night than any of you could tolerate in your lifetime. The thanks they get for keeping your daughters from being raped or your marijuana and Natural Ice baked sons from jumping off the balcony into the shallow end of the pool is a complaint on Monday morning that, "the cops didn't allow me to stand and argue why I shouldn't have to answer questions when they thought I just vandalized this house."

Get a grip IV. A protest on campus to "stop police brutality" because of the obviously errant bullet of a BART officer in the bay area? Come on...do you really think that exemplifies the "ongoing abuse of authority by law enforcement". How about an isolated mistake carried out by one officer, I'm sure the "police state" didn't conspire to shoot the next guy who got out of line!

So get real citizens! Realize if you met the police with more, "Yes Sir's" and "I'm happy to answer your questions", that you might be met with more "thank you for your cooperation and have a nice night's".

You might be the VoiceofSB, but not the VoiceofIV. The police force attracts a certain type of person, and those people aren't usually people who want to protect and serve. Numerous psychological studies have been done on what happens when someone is put in a position of power. In many cases, not all, they abuse it. In the case of the BART cop, he definitely abused it. That was not an errant bullet. From all the videos, it clearly shows an execution.

My rights were constantly violated by the IVFP during my IV days. Rights don't get thrown out the window because you live in IV and might be drunk. I knew the cops when I lived in IV. I knew the good ones (which there were quite a few of) and I knew the bad ones. In fact, we had one cop suspended twice for two separate violations. If you don't live there, you don't know what you are talking about. I've dealt with cops in many other places including downtown, and they treat you much better elsewhere. IVFP and UCPD need to sit down and figure out a different way to work with IV residents. It's not like policing State Street or a small neighborhood. It's a combination of the two. I believe that with a little bit of community policing, they could get a much better reaction out of the students. I know I had a lot of respect for the cops who talked to me in a calm manner as opposed to those who bullied me around.

And I want to stress that there are some very good police in IV, but one bad cop can make the whole group look bad. That person needs to be identified and removed or retrained.

Faerydragon - you are right about the general rule of obeying commands (which the author did here), however, you are a little off on the law part. You say: "They detain people (handcuffing them and making them sit down) until they can assess the situation to make sure there isn't an imminent threat or any criminal activity going on."

Actually the law is that, in order to lawfully detain a suspect for investigation (not an arrest), the police officer must have a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot BEFORE the detention is made. That is, they must have already assessed the situation prior to handcuffing an individual for the purpose of investigation - especially in a situation such as this.

The author answered the officers' questions and did not at any time refuse to comply with any commands. Now, if he were holding a bowling ball or otherwise appeared to be the person (or associated with the person) who was reportedly "wildly vandalizing" the building, it would be a different story of course.

True, the IVFP has a lot of insolent, argumentative kids to deal with out there but they still must act WITHIN THE LAW when doing so.

I suppose if enough individuals felt sufficiently disrespected and that a lawful conduct, interrogation or even arrest were violated by the Isla Vista foot patrol then a movement toward the investigation and demand for fair practices could be begun and a police force composed of the best can be comprised.

I also think such a study/ investigation and appropriate actions would rightfully be backed by a wider citizenry and appropriate elected officials who believe that nobody is to be above the law, and will therefore support such actions.

Osum, I hear what you're saying, but you're leaving out a MAJOR component: The actual residents of I.V. that feel a need to be arrested by acting like jackasses.
The cops have had all sorts of meetings, counseling, sessions, you name it, it's ALL documented.
The problem people, all they have is keggers & bong rip sessions to bitch about the popo.
You speak of "wider citizenry" & I'll let you in on a story about such:
I attended a meeting of the appeal to change the noise ordinance to make the 6500 to 6600 blocks of Sabado Tarde & Del Playa a "party zone" (which I am in favor of) a little while back & here's what I saw:
A bunch of spoiled children that felt they had the right to do as they please because after all, it's I.V. & they felt the laws of the county don't apply there.
I saw a female student say that "all families should move out of I.V. because they have no business there & after all, families are boring."
The 1 voice of reason was a young lady who had the chutzpah to stand up, call her peers out for being idiots & said she wanted to have her peace to actually study (WOW! What a concept!). She got shouted down & called names by said peers.
I had another fellow feel that it was his right to blast his car stereo in the parking lot of an apartment complex @ 1:00 a.m. on a week night w/out repercussion(s).
Then there was "Mr. Che t-shirt" who seemed to feel he was the "self-appointed revolutionary" who called the IVFP a bunch of fascists because they cited him for playing his acoustic guitar @ 3:00 a.m. out on the porch, but failed to accept that a neighbor complained & called the police after repeatedly asking him to keep it down.
There were MANY more similar stories from that meeting, but I'm sure you get the picture by now.
All these folks are WAY concerned w/ their "right to party" & yet fail to realize that if said right infringes upon others who don't feel the need to party then the popo will attend to matters.
I guarantee, most (majority) complaints against the IVFP are based on the fact that somebody got cited for doing something when they "felt" they shouldn't be cited.
If you go before a judge w/ merely a sentiment, guess what? You lose against tangibles such as breathalizer results & documented behavior.
It ain't to say that things can't be improved, but when you have a strong sentiment by those who feel entitled, well, guess who the problem is? Not the cops :) henry

And Again, Thank you Hank! I have attended similar meetings and have heard similar rants from the transient student population of IV. But here is another side of things...If this town of Isla Vista is truely policed by radical, oppresive, overbearing, heavyhanded, civil rights violating cops, then where are all of the complaints? Where are all of the internal investigations into policy and civil rights violations, where are all of the pro-bono attorneys making names for themselves by righting the wrong and stringing up rogue cops for all to see?

They do not exist! The complaints don't exist because the majority of the "stories" of oppressive cops that come out of IV are from those who violated a law they felt, "wasn't right", and they were "disrespected" when they tried to play sidewalk lawyer, and they found themselves in jail or with a ticket in their hand.

I wonder if Firemen get criticized for the way the spray water on fires?

VoiceofSB - the complaints do exist, the lawsuits get filed, internal affairs investigations occur - they just don't usually make front page news.

By the way, pro-bono attorneys don't seek out rich kid clients just to "make a name for themselves" by suing cops - they are too busy helping those who can't afford legal representation in matters far more serious than noise violations or drinking in public.

Thanks, Ben, for the article. It's obvious from all the comments that you've touched some sensitive spots.

I question Sgt. Olmstead's assertion that "20 percent of the serious crimes that occur in the Sheriff’s Department's jurisdiction are in IVFP’s territory." Especially since, despite more than six weeks of communicating, the Sheriff's Department refused to produce ANY crime statistics for Isla Vista for a research project I was involved in last fall.

I haven't lived in Isla Vista for sometime, but I published the results of a May 4, 1989 public meeting between community members and local Sheriff and UCSB police when I had a newspaper there. And, despite all the Orwellian excuses offered up by Olmstead, police in Isla Vista 20 years later still do not show respect for its residents on the same basis police do in similar circumstances in other communities.

No matter what anybody says about snotty students, Ben Preston did not deserve to be thrown to the ground and handcuffed in his own residence. And I'm sure it would not have happened in the City of Goleta, where the Sheriff's Department also provides service under contract.

Carmen Lodise

In Mr. Preston's own words: "being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Sure, it sounds like the policeman that he dealt with went a little Robocop on him, but realistically, being in the same place "25 minutes after the latest wave of pre-demolition “'help'" had been there, makes him look like a suspect.

And don't get me wrong, as my initial reaction is that he was treated badly, but as I think more about it, it was actually just rudely, as it doesn't appear that he was seriously being abused. Again, in this situation, Mr. Preston was in basically a condemned area, with only his curiosity as reason to be there--which may not have even been trespassing, per se, but the timing was certainly bad.

All that said, I don't think it would kill a constable, to apologize to an innocent citizen when their job calls for said rudeness. It doesn't necessarily equate to "being wrong", and it would go a long way towards public relations.

I've had a lot of interactions with the foot patrol over the last 20 years... 3 times out of about 20 they got into a mode I'd call irritating. The 3 odd ones were...

Once a group of 6 deputies called to me on a Halloween; asked me why someone as old as me (in my 30's) was in IV, and I said very nicely, I live here. One said `fat chance' and they had me lay stomach down on the road, patted me down, got my wallet, and looked at my id. Sure enough, I lived there. They asked me to stand up, one apologized, while the others said `who'd have ever thought?' and shook their heads in disbelief. It wasn't awful but just weird.

Similar thing happened a few years later; got patted down but didn't have to lay on the ground.

Then another time I guy was having an epileptic attack on the street (as it turned out). The people in the foot patrol office smirked, told me to call 911 and get out. Couldn't believe it. Took about 30 minutes for the ambulance to come. The guy recovered nicely, he was about 50 visiting a local family.

Now that leaves about 17 times when everything went well. Maybe this kind of average is fine and typical.

... news flash to Ben: when you are standing around at the scene of a reported crime and a cop says to do something, do it; or else deal with the unpleasant consequences like a man. Compliance with law enforcement orders isn't a debate, and an attitude doesn't help.

Fair? Not really. Considerate? Nope. Nice? Hardly.

A takeaway lesson for you: Cops are different. For good reasons. Adapt your behavior to increase your effectiveness.

Outside of IV, most of us don't much care if police are nice to mouthy reporters with attitude. Sorry, it's true. We hope street cops focus all their attention on crooks, crime, and victims not on communication skills with those standing around at crime scenes.

So it's Friday evening. Who wants to place some bets that on Monday there'll be yet another "sidewalk attorney" or "party lawyer" decrying the IVFP for their heavyhanded police force tactics because they didn't get to do as they wished over the weekend? The betting window is open :) henry

Hank - ever hear of the Constitution? It gives us certain rights (such as the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure and protects against the use of excessive force) in a thing called the 4th Amendment - you really ought to read it sometime, apparently your so-called "sidewalk attorneys" have.

Sacjon, yeah, I checked out the Constitution, have most of it memorized, especially something in the Preamble about "Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness."
The thing is this: Some folks take this pursuit to mean that they can violate YOUR rights, whether on the law enforcement or civilian side, hence the reason cops & criminals exist. You can't have 1 w/out the other.
But it seems to me you're making this an issue outside the scope of the article. If that's the case, you're missing the point that Isla Vista is a unique case.
What makes it unique? Well, as I've stated, the sense of "entitlement" that some of the student population seems to exhibit.
I'll give you a classic example from a few of years ago:
My girlfriend @ the time & me were @ a party on Sabado Tarde, standing on a balcony, having a beer w/ the rest of the crowd.
There was a group of 3 police officers (2 of whom I personally know) walking up the street, not hassling anybody or anything.
Suddenly, 1 of the guests on the balcony we were standing on decided it was "within his right(s) under the Constitution" to huck a beer cup @ the officers on the street. Well, what do you think happened next?
Yep, the cops came up, barged into the apartment where the party was taking place, nabbed the guilty individual, confiscated the keg, handed out citations to underage drinkers & basically shut down the party.
Immediately the host started whining about "police harassment" & how she's going back to Italy where "the cops don't do such things" & so on & so on.
So who "cast the 1st sone (or beer cup in this case)? The cops were just walking down the street, bright boy (who I smacked upside the head the moment the beer cup left his hand & HAPPILY pointed him out to the cops) decided to exercise his "entitlement" & a good, fun party came to a close.
You mention the Constitution. Do you know that many of the amendments in that wonderful living document where based on cause & effect? This episode is a classic exmple of that principle: Cause: Young Mr. Entitlement felt he had to be an idiot by throwing a beer cup @ cops.
Effect: Cops (like ANY normal human being) don't like having beer cups thrown @ them & busted Mr. Entitlement.
Dude, as a person who fled the oppression of REAL communist dictatorship, I worship the freedoms, liberties & rights guranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America.
People here whine about their "rights being trampled" & so forth, w/out knowing what REALLY having their rights trampled means.
Trampled rights is nowhere equivalent to not getting your way, something many in I.V. seem to believe.
But alas, I'm not perfect, I have no tolerance for stupidity & many self-appointed agents of entitlement have found that out, w/ my help or not. Welcome to Isla Vista :) henry

Time to point out to my friend Hank that the Life + Liberty + Happiness deal comes from the Declaration of Independence, a grand document, (but not necessarily the the law of the land
http://candst.tripod.com/doinotlaw.htm ):

::: "...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. ..."

I got yer Preamble for you:

... "Preamble [to the U.S. Constitution]
... "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Oops, sorry, mixup after Superbowl festivities! What actually happened yesterday? Feels like I bumped my noggin. HAHAHA!
Still, Life, Liberty & Pursuit of Happiness don't equate to stealing people's stuff or destroying their property out of a sense of entitlement some of the Isla Vista community seem to feel they're owed :) henry