Remembering an Officer Slain in the Line of Duty
It was a funeral befitting a great man: 10,000 mourners packed into the biggest church they could find, poignant eulogies, glorious music, a grand procession through a grateful city to a final resting place amid rolling hills and a view to the sea, all of it carried live on television. Sadly, it was only after Randy Simmons was killed that most of us came to learn just how great he was.
Simmons was 51 when he died. An officer with the Los Angeles Police Department’s SWAT team, he was at home with his wife and two children on the night of Feb. 6 when the call-up came. Patrol officers had responded to a home in West Valley Division after a man called 911 and claimed to have shot three people. The suspect was still inside and refusing to surrender, and the officers at the scene believed some of the victims might still be alive.
Before leaving home, Simmons gathered his family for a prayer, not only for his safety and that of his fellow officers, but also for the man he would seek to arrest. It was a familiar ritual for all of them. Simmons had been a cop for 27 years and a member of the SWAT team for 20. His children had grown to be teenagers without ever having seen him do anything else. Dad’s cell phone rings, he goes out and gets the bad guy, he comes home. Though a SWAT officer had died in a training accident in 2000, none had ever been killed on a call-up in the unit’s 40-year history.
So off Simmons went on a code-three run from his home in Palos Verdes to the incident command post in the San Fernando Valley. This time he did not come home.
As I dressed for the funeral last Friday, I considered some grim numbers: More than twenty LAPD officers have been murdered since I joined the department; many others have died in traffic accidents and other mishaps. And of course there have been cops from other departments in Southern California who have similarly laid down their lives. I have attended most of their funerals, and inside my locker I keep some small remembrance of each one, a program from the service or a prayer card or a photograph. I keep all these mementos tucked away inside my uniform hat, which I bring out only for occasions such as this.
All of those funerals were sorrowful but inspiring occasions, making me at once fearful of being a cop but also immensely proud. Friday’s service evoked new heights in both emotions, starting well before I entered the church. Vermont Avenue is one of the widest streets in Los Angeles, and when I turned onto it I saw hundreds of police cars lined up for blocks in the northbound lanes, as the cops who had arrived in them streamed in long blue columns toward the church.
The turnout from the LAPD was unprecedented in my memory, but even more remarkable was the presence of so many cops from other departments. There were police officers from all over California, some of whom had made nine- and ten-hour drives to be there. And there were cops from New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Alaska, and too many other places to be listed here, many of whom had traveled at their own expense just for the privilege of honoring a man most had never met or even heard of until his death.
But it wasn’t only police officers who turned out. At the entrance to the church grounds on Vermont were two ladder trucks from the Los Angeles Fire Department, their ladders reaching skyward with a huge American flag suspended between them. And as the crowd walked toward the church they filed past the LAFD’s senior command staff, all of whom stood solemnly at attention for as long as it took all those thousands to pass.
Inside the church, a bit of spontaneous applause broke out near one of the entrances, with the rest of us craning for a look at what had prompted it. The applause swept across the church, and soon all 10,000 people were on their feet as they realized that Officer Jim Veenstra was taking his place among the mourners. Like Randy Simmons, Veenstra had been shot in the face that night in their attempted rescue, yet there he was, in uniform and standing tall with his wife Michelle, an LAPD captain, at his side.
There was an uncomfortable but revealing moment during the service when LAPD chief William Bratton rose to speak. He first addressed some of the political dignitaries in attendance, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and others, and last on his list was former LAPD chief Daryl Gates, under whose leadership the SWAT concept was developed. Gates had been invited to sit in a place of honor with Simmons’s colleagues, and at the mention of his name the assembled cops were on their feet and applauding in appreciation for the man who even now, 16 years after he retired, remains an iconic and much beloved figure to the officers he once led.
Chief Bratton handled the moment graciously, waiting for the crowd to settle before continuing with his remarks. But it was interesting to note the reaction of some of the political types who were seated together not far from me. Some refused to stand or even feign appreciation for Gates, illustrating the divide between the city’s cops and its politicians. Even some of the LAPD brass declined to stand, apparently fearful that doing so might brand them as disloyal to Bratton and therefore unfit for further promotion. I needn’t embarrass any of them by identifying them here; word of the incident has already swept through the department. But they should know how petty and childish they looked in front of the men and women they purport to lead.
But for that bit of awkwardness, the service was an uplifting celebration of Simmons’s life. Among the speakers were one of Simmons’s former Washington State football teammates, his sisters-in-law, his sister, and, most movingly of all, his son Matthew, who at 15 bears a striking resemblance to his father, and who somehow found the strength to tell all those people how much his father meant to him and how much he will miss him.
When the service concluded, the hearse bearing Simmons’s casket led a miles-long procession to Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. Much of South Los Angeles had to be brought to a halt to accommodate the stream of cars, with Vermont and Slauson Avenues shut down for hours until the last one had passed. Fire crews from across the L.A. area lent themselves to the effort by helping to control traffic along the way. There were fire engines from Pasadena, Burbank, Montebello and many other cities parked at intersections along the route, their crews snapping salutes as the hearse passed.
Thousands of people lined the streets along the way, some waving flags, others holding pictures of Simmons or hand-lettered signs expressing their sympathy. The route took us through some of the most crime- and gang-infested areas of the city, but the outpouring of support was a reminder that, even in those neighborhoods, most of the people are as law-abiding and decent as those living anywhere else.
At the cemetery, thousands of cops lined up on the hillside in great silent ranks. A lone bagpiper played “Going Home” as the casket was borne to the grave by six of Simmons’s fellow SWAT officers. Taps was played, and four LAPD helicopters swept in, one of them peeling off in the “missing man” formation as they flew overhead. Simmons’s daughter Gabrielle released a single white dove which circled the cemetery before the rest of the flock was released to join it for the flight back home.
The graveside service ended as the sun dipped into the ocean, somehow a fitting sight for the police officers who gave Simmons a final salute before being dismissed. And though we had gathered that morning in a great unity of purpose, as night fell we all went our separate ways to return to our work . . . and to wait until we meet again, as we surely will some day.
“Jack Dunphy” is the pseudonym of an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. The opinions expressed are his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD management.
May God bless these brave police officers. We owe much to those who protect civilization from the criminal element.
Thanks for writing this story.
A very moving piece.
Continuing my thoughts and prayers to Officer Simmons, his family, the LAPD Family, and healing thoughts to Officer Veenstra.
Chief of Police William Bratton and the “New” Los Angeles Police Department
William Bratton, nationally recognized as a crime fighter and arguably the most popular police chief in the United States has a serious challenge to face. However, unlike law enforcement subjects of which he is eminently qualified to weigh in on like COMPSTAT, Community Policing, and crime reduction, it would appear our Mr. Bratton does not have the proper background, formal education, specialized training, or level of professional experience to justify him lessening the standards of for entry level Los Angeles Police Departments Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team members. A strong statement to be certain, but allow me expound upon some observations.
Since 2002, as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, William Bratton has reduced crime, especially murder rates. For that the citizens, community groups, members of the Department are grateful. But, since 2005, he has also reduced the physical qualifications for entry-level supervisors and lieutenants to be admitted into Metropolitan Division, thus allowing an influx of women into this coveted division. It can be argued that he has attempted to the same thing for SWAT, which would have the affect of more women in the world’s most elite police unit.
However, his decision on this issue threatens his waning popularity within the Department, and possibly his legacy at the LAPD. Mr. Bratton’s decision to lower standards for entry-level SWAT officers is not a novel concept. In fact, Mr. Bratton has lowered standards in Metropolitan Division already. He has done so for new sergeants and new lieutenants, I write new because most likely these new sergeants and lieutenants have not worked Metropolitan Division as officers. Only a Bratton crony or Pro-Bratton spin doctor would unsatisfactorily argue this elimination of physical requirements for certain jobs in Metropolitan Division. It’s a fact, and there are officers, supervisors, and lieutenants in the Division that are not required to maintain any physical standards. This is new since Chief Bratton took the wheel of the Department and it goes against common sense of a leading by example.
SWAT officers and SWAT supervisors are selected from Metropolitan Division. These formal changes to the longstanding Metropolitan Division policy were ordered from the top and condoned throughout the chain of command under the guise of changing the “insular culture” of Metropolitan Division and SWAT.
The intent of lowering the standards for SWAT and Metropolitan Division was meant only to accomplish a couple of goals. Those goals of Mr. Bratton, no matter what Bratton attempts to sell the media at a press conference, is for him to get females into SWAT and more females throughout Metropolitan Division. This will allow him to appear progressive, a change agent; popular with the media and liberal left he caters to so well and frequently. It is not a Department secret that Mr. Bratton has grand aspirations should a Democrat be elected to the White House in 2009. Have no illusions, he will deny those are his goals because he knows there is no data, no best practices, or national trends to back this controversial move of weakening this outstanding unit. Also, whatever strings he pulls on his female voice box, Assistant Chief Sharon Papa, or his black voice box Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger, it is about getting women into SWAT and more women into Metropolitan Division. Papa would be a logical choice to defend his policy because she is the one who chaired his Inquiry Board into the Suzie Pena shooting of 2005.
Seems simple, doesn’t it? But will the lowering of standards make the unit stronger? Easy answer. Obviously the answer is no. These officers, supervisors, and lieutenants that Bratton could basically appoint to positions inside Metropolitan Division where he sees fit, to include SWAT will do, and have done nothing, to strengthen the mission capability of the Division. Denial of this practice by the Chief’s office or any of his cronies or subordinates that he parades in front of a camera is pure politics, window dressing for the uninformed or naïve, and it is disingenuous at best, corruption at the worst. Where is the data that lowering the standards will make SWAT and Metropolitan stronger? Will these lowering of standards make the unit better at their mission? Is there similar data for the lowering of physical standards in the military Special Forces? If so, why hasn’t the military done this? Why haven’t we seen the data? There is not even a casual relationship between lowering standards and performance improvement, not even a suggested correlation and that is only one of the reasons his secret study has not been published yet. The other reason is because it lacks credibility, and it is not easily defendable.
The lowering of Metropolitan Division and SWAT standards has gone unreported and unnoticed by the media and the Los Angeles Police Protective League, until now. Just to be clear, certain administrative officers, administrative sergeants, and most lieutenants do not have physical requirements in the Department’s “elite” Metropolitan Division. This certainly has changed the make-up of Metropolitan Division. There are overweight, sedentary, non-tactical supervisors that have never worked a day Metropolitan Division as an officer and/or have rarely spent any time in the so-called, “fast” divisions of our fair City. Nor have they operated extensively in the challenging operational environments our Department offers for any significant period of time. “Operational” and “field” mean here, that the police Department member is assigned somewhere in a field assignment where you are expected to take enforcement action, the bad guys shoot at you and the citizens, they kill people, they fight with you, and they attempt to run away on a consistent basis. Many of the latest additions to Metropolitan Division (in the last three years) are officers, supervisors, and lieutenants with varied ethnic and extensive administrative backgrounds, different races, many females, and relatively inexperienced lieutenants, to include the next SWAT lieutenant and both Metropolitan Division captains.
Next up on Bratton’s list, put women in SWAT. What better way to show that he is culturally sensitive and un-biased for his proposed 2009 Democratic federal appointment? The problem was he went about changing the rules for entry-level SWAT officers in such a hushed and hurried manner that the Protective League realized there was something amiss. There are formal rules that are clear how to go about these changes and Bratton violated these rules. Obviously this was an oversight and political faux pas on Mr. Bratton’s part. The lawsuit filed on March 21, 2008 espouses as much. Oh yes, let’s not forget some of the wives of current SWAT officers chose to air their constitutionally protected opinions against the lower standards Bratton has imposed because it makes a dangerous job even more dangerous for their husbands when they would be forced to work with officers that snuck in under lowered standards. Granted, this letter writing was done most certainly to the demise of their husband’s future aspirations while Mr. Bratton is head of the Department. It is a certainty that if Mr. Bratton is willing to compromise officer safety and mission capabilities of the world’s finest SWAT team, he may be inclined to sacrifice a couple of SWAT officers’ careers by placing them on the Metropolitan Desk for indefinite period of time. Just ask SWAT Officer, Police Officer III Robert Melchoir. Oh, he is not allowed to answer you because he has received a direct order from his superior not to discuss the incident, even though it is not an ongoing personnel issue (i.e. Complaint). Good luck on the Desk Officer Melchoir! Hopefully, the Department will not punish you too long for your wife’s constitutional right to voice her opinion against Mr. Bratton and his lower standards. Also, to be crystal clear SWAT officers are under direct orders not to speak to the media or even other LAPD officers about the lowered standards. In fact, the new Captain of Metropolitan Division himself, Captain Jeffrey Greer, was in tears at a SWAT unit meeting he called, as he begged and demanded the SWAT officers not continue this political barrage of fighting the lowered standards. In short, Captain Greer ordered the platoon to go dark, not to speak or else, on the subject or risk discipline.
This assault on the officers of Metropolitan Division has occurred with Mr. Bratton’s consent. His herd of yes men, his command and staff officers, his $230,000/year Security Sergeant that have assisted him in implementing these misguided personnel choices is just that, misguided. Those same command and staff officers are responsible for imposing lower standards on Metropolitan and SWAT are: of course Chief William Bratton, Assistant Chief Sharon Papa, First Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell, Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger, Deputy Chief Michael Hillman, Deputy Chief Richard Ripouli, Commander Scott Kroeber, Commander Kirk Albanese, and Metropolitan Division Commanding Officer, Captain Jeffrey Greer. Also, one of the main proponents of these changes to Metropolitan Division came from Former Assistant Chief George Gascon, now Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona. When Mr. Gascon was an Assistant Chief in charge of Operations he began to dismantle and assault Metropolitan Division, in lieu of perceived higher crime suppression productivity. Training was routinely axed for crime suppression duties. SWAT capabilities were diminished and put on hold, to include aerial platform shooting (sniper) and aerial reconnaissance. Officers were also denied fundamental refresher training days like riot control training, weapons training, and The Basic Metropolitan Officer’s Course was shelved because management could not justify training the officers for the duration of that school. Soon after the May Day incident, bam! Back was the Basic Metropolitan Officer’s Course after a 2-½ years absence. Also gone were the days of stakeouts for violent felons that preyed upon the weak. Under Mr. Gascon and Mr. Bratton, the order of the day was flooding the troubled area with as many cops as possible and arresting as many offenders as possible, regardless of the offense.
The command and staff officers encouraged, supported, recruited, and allowed unqualified supervision into Metropolitan Division and have encouraged more to flock to the Division. The mission of Mr. Bratton: change the insular culture of Metropolitan Division and SWAT, and by all means get more women and minorities into SWAT. Actually, politically speaking, not a bad move for a White Male with a New England accent. Can you see the press conference? I can! Brings a little tear to my eye as the Mr. Bratton stands next to her and tells the cameras he was committed to this from the onset of his arrival and that he has always been about affirmative action and equal opportunity employment, and there is no “glass ceiling” on the LAPD for anyone! I can hear the music in the background too; with Bratton’s advisers telling him a seat in the Congress is not a problem with his positive name recognition and his reputation as a social reformer.
The Inquiry Board that Mr. Bratton appointed has never been an LAPD SWAT member, or a Metropolitan Division officer, or a field officer in City of Los Angeles. In fact, neither has Mr. Bratton. Mr. Bratton may have rode around on a bike a couple days bike or driven through the division if there was a camera near by, but realistically it cannot be said he understands, or wants to understand the job of our Metropolitan Division and SWAT officers. Why should he? There is nothing in it personally for him.
It is my belief that it can be successfully argued that we are headed into more of these crucial and negative incidents with the “New” LAPD that Bratton and Mayor Villaragosa are trying to forge. The politicization of the Department is in full gear and Mr. Bratton is an implementer, or a hammer for that politicization. Hammers are great tools, but hey, they are still tools.
I don’t believe I want to a part of the “New” LAPD! Especially since it is clear the “New” LAPD is built upon East Coast principles of lax physical standards, no real adherence to hard, realistic training, and our style institutional leadership, which should be called management, succumbs to regular, palpable political pressure from City Hall and the Chief’s office. The Department has to tolerate an oppressive tone from the Chief’s Office so as not to speak out or risk being branded disloyal or a troublemaker, never to promote again or receive a coveted assignment. This “New” LAPD, which is still reeling from the May Day incident is headed for more trouble because of corruption like this and political paybacks, with more and more unqualified personnel infiltrating elite units, some at the highest levels. For a world-renowned unit like SWAT and Metropolitan Division to be politically hung to dry while it worked at the cutting edge for so many decades is the grossest of injustices. Many a President, foreign leader, dignitary, serial bank robber, or hostage has had the fine experience of having personnel from Metropolitan Division assigned to them. Metropolitan Division used to pick the best officers from all over the City, regardless of race, gender, creed, color, religion, sexual orientation, or country of origin. That is not the case any longer. These statistics rule the selection process with absolute stringent adherence to compelled to getting more minorities into the Division.
There are officers, sergeants, and lieutenants that serve in Metropolitan Division today that if they had integrity would tell you there is no way in hell they were the best qualified person for the job. That is unacceptable and the citizens of Los Angeles and the Department will pay for this with more missteps, errors, omissions, and overreactions. Also, know there are dozens of qualified women and men with prior Metropolitan Division experience that would love to come back and work there, but they cannot because they are viewed by certain managers as part of the insular culture this bogus reports notes.
The notion that the SWAT criteria and specific SWAT training needs to be changed is not supported by any credible data, pragmatism, or necessity. Where are the facts to support the supposition? You would think we would see them by now. LAPD SWAT and Metropolitan Division have nothing to do with, nor do they want to have anything to do with the Boston Police Department or the New York City Police Departments tactical teams. Not to disparage the brave men and women on those tactical teams back East, but they are not even close level of overall officer competence, fitness level, mission capability, or all around skill sets the basic LAPD SWAT Officer possesses today. The two departments where Mr. Bratton came from are not known for their exemplary records of their elite units. In fact, just the opposite can be said. However, Southern California and the law enforcement practices here are recognized as world leading in professional policing. All others look to this region for the latest and best practices. The world looks to the LAPD SWAT unit and Metropolitan Division, Robbery Homicide Division, Special Investigation Section (SIS), Major Crimes Division, Narcotics Division, Force Investigation Division, and even Professional Standards Bureau (PSB). All of these units are leaders in their fields throughout the country. Why else do LAPD managers and senior officers get hired all over the country? Is it because those people are doing it all wrong? Hardly! It’s because we are a professional police agency that is rooted, well used to be, in hard fought lessons learned. Generally, blood, sweat, and tears of the working police officers paid for those lessons learned. Quality through continuous improvement!
LAPD is the world leader in major city policing and Bratton will put his signature on it. Ask police officers, police managers, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Secret Service, and military Special Forces officers (Navy SEALS, Army Green Berets, Marine Force Reconnaissance members) about LAPD SWAT and you will hear that none are better at their mission. Metropolitan Division and SWAT are not sacred cows, but one thing is for certain, Mr. Bratton does not need to be the butcher for this job because this cow is still producing tons of quality milk and there is no reason in the world, especially in this post-9/11 world, to slaughter it now!
Find a goat Mr. Bratton and blame it for your misguided attempt to change and water down Metropolitan Division and our fabled SWAT team. A female SWAT officer is en route anyway under the proven old try-out system. She will be there before you leave our Department. Was it not for a disabling knee injury on her last try-out she would have already been your first female SWAT officer. Your press conference is coming Mr. Bratton, with her standing right next to you smiling.
Just know this Mr. Bratton, we want to be led by a leader, not a politician. When I write we, I mean the men and women who sweat and bleed so you look good. We want and need a leader to rally around, someone to inspire us. Sir, you definitely could be that leader. Please take the chance of and say it was a miscalculation, not a mistake, but a miscalculation or bad staff advice and that you are still committed to parity, women’s rights, and equal employment opportunity. Blame this mess on the Inquiry Board. They are deserving of some criticism and they are seriously lacking in city policing credentials anyway. It will not hurt your approval ratings and your political capital is undamaged. Truthfully we would love to get along with you for your remaining year(s) here at the finest police department in the world. Who knows, this could be just another aspect the League and the Department could agree to. Please consider it.
Sincerely,
Irwin M. Copper