Vultures back, reporter catches feedback
On Tuesday, the Sun broke the story that police were buying, selling and producing T-shirts that depicted San Bernardino as a gang-infested murder capital, with the numbers "187" written in blood-red on the front ...
This reporter got some feedback on that story. It wasn't what I expected ...
The brief context is that these darkly-sardonic T-shirts, with vultures presumably standing in for gangsters and criminals, were sold by the police union in the mid-1990s. Now they are back, but the police union says it has nothing to do with their sale. But they are selling, fast, and sometimes in the parking lot of the main precinct.
Obviously, the shirts do nothing positive for the city's image, and city leaders condemned their sale. The mayor called them in "poor taste" but was careful not to ridicule the police officers who buy and sell them.
So, to the feedback .... This reporter got four phone calls the next day and one e-mail regarding the story ...
Here is the email, reprinted below exactly as I received it:
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I tried eBay and used Goggle, but I couldn't find a listing for the t-shirts. Other than the SBPD parking lot, do you know where I could purchase one? Thanks, Dave
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Every person, like the above, wanted to know how they could get a T-shirt. This reporter suggested to each one that they go to the city's Web site, get the Police Department phone number, and give San Bernardino's finest a call.
Not sure what answer they got.
I suspect that only law enforcement and their immediate friends and families have access to the shirts at this time. Maybe they'll become more mainstream? Don't know.
Take that information and come to whatever conclusions/implications you like.
the frustration shown by the Police is justified when the Chief, the City Manager, and 4 out of 7 Council people are always sitting on their hands and always leaning into the side the Mayor is on at any particular time. the strange part is that while the Chief and the City MGR have to tow the Mayors line or be removed, those fence sitting, hand wringing Council people Baxter, Brinker, Estrada, and V. Johnson are elected representatives of the people in their Wards. How in the world do these four justify allowing no action to be taken to get our City back in control. The brave Police who put everything on the line for all the City's people know that at any time, they will be thrown under the bus if it is politically expedient for the Mayor or those like Van Johnson who want to grab any straw to hang on to his position in the up and coming 6th Ward. I can understand after being told that he is in the bailbonds business, why he would want to keep the parolees rolling into San Bernardino
This just creates more business for him. What I have not found out yet is what motivation the other of the Mayor's"yes"Council people have for doing nothing for our City. After all, it is their City too. Is it that they are afraid of not getting the Mayor's endorsement at
election time?
Is the police officer that's selling the t-shirts possess a business license like many of the street vendors that sell goods are required to have. If not can he be reported to the Code Enforcement and fined.
In the interest of factuality, the parole agent for a parolee taken into custody is contacted and 9 times out of 10 a "parole hold" is placed. The inmate then remains in custody to serve the remainder of the original sentence, plus any additional time for the new crimes committed. It is true that they may have an opportunity to interview for parole again.
Parolees are NOT where the revenue generates from in bail bonding. Most don't have much in the way of material things and they've burned their bridges with any family or friends that do have something of value. Revenues come from grandchildren convincing grandparents to pony up the deed to their home, thinking they'll be able to talk some sense into the "child". Unfortunately, drugs seems to speak a more convincing language and the bail's forfeited when the “child” doesn’t show up for court.
This failure to appear means the bail bondsman must incur the expenses involved in locating the person who has absconded. It isn’t cheap. All manner of high tech and low tech devices are needed to keep the pace of today’s sophisticated criminals. Even then, capture isn’t a guaranteed outcome.
Remember the bounty hunter jailed in Mexico for tracking a serial-rapist-heir-to-a-fortune? Not my idea of recompense for his efforts!
There are also the decent working people who make a mistake - maybe they forgot to pay a moving violation and now have a warrant out for their arrest - these people are the bread & butter of bail bondsmen. They pose little if any risk of flight, pay on time, and go on to lead productive lives. We might all be surprised at how many of our coworkers and neighbors have posted bail to make it in to work on time instead of languishing in the pokey until their hearing date.
I don’t understand where this misconception that bail bondsmen are financially rewarded with every arrest made and benefit from parolees being in town developed.
Hopefully, this helps clarify the truth of the matter to some basic extent.