Bobb, Barney and a beef with the puppy killer

Over at Patterico Pontificates, blogger (and assistant LA County DA) Patrick Frey takes issue with a defense of Pasadena police Chief Barney Melekian published in the LA Times.

Patterico says the Times should have noted that Merrick Bobb, who wrote the piece has used Melekian as a (presumably) paid consultant for thePoliceAssessmentResource Center. The OP-Ed in question discusses Melekian’s response to the OIS that killed Leroy Barnes, and calls on the Pasadena Police officers’ union to allow the chief to reveal the names of the officers who shot Barnes.
Here’s a bit of the pontification:

Bobb’s piece repeatedly extols Melekian’s virtues. Bobb says the chief “followed the rules of good policing” and gushes: “[Chief Melekian’s] willingness to hold himself and his department accountable to the general public is admirable.” Bobb’s sermon of praise ends with a paean to “transparency.”
How ironic that Bobb shows no “transparency” about his own relationship with Melekian.
Instead, the reader is led to assume that Bobb has no personal interest in defending Melekian:
Merrick J. Bobb is executive director of the nonprofit Police Assessment Resource Center and special counsel monitoring the Sheriff’s Department for the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
What Bobb fails to mention, andThe Timesdoes not disclose, is thatMelekian is a paid employee of Bobb’s consulting firm.*The web site for the aforementioned Police Assessment Resource Centerlists Melekian as one of only two “senior advisors” to Bobb’s firm:
Chief Bernard Melekian joined PARC as a senior advisor in June 2004. He is the Police Chief of Pasadena, California, and has occupied that position since 1996.
Melekian’s presence at Bobb’s consulting firm lends Bobb credibility in claiming an understanding of police procedures and tactics. Melekian’s experience is critical, because Merrick Bobb has absolutely no police experience, whatsoever.

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