Saturday, August 17, 2002 9:34 PM
The violent arrest in July of 16-year-old Jeremy Morse in Inglewood, once again sent shock waves through our city, and the journalism community. That sense of “here we go again” can be all too pervasive so it is incumbent that we remind ourselves of the crucial role the media plays in informing the public without stirring up the pot. It also reminds us that the relationship between law enforcement and the media is a unique one: sometimes con- tentious but most times cooperative. My fellow reporters have been sharing with me some of the irexperiences with the police and some of the stories are scary, amusing or just plain weird.
One scary story comes from New Times L.A. Editor Rick Barrs, who went on a ride-along with the LAPD on a drug raid when he was working for the L.A. Times a few years back. The cops burst into the second story pad of the dealer and all hell broke loose. Gunfire erupted from the druggies and was returned by the police. Rick, always fast on his feet, realized he was the only person in the room who wasn’t packing. So he made a bee- line for the window and dove out. He fractured his leg but was lucky not to get shot.
Club member and publisher of Feral House’s wild array of controversial tomes, Adam Parfrey, isn’t so mystified as to why the police showed up at his Lincoln Heights home in April. He had been awoken in the early morning by a telemarketer. Adam told the man to not call back and to take his name off of his list. The telemarketer, however, called back!
Adam, ever the prankster, said, “It’s guys like you who make me want to kill myself,” and hung up. Ten minutes later, five LAPD squad cars and eight officers were in front of Adam’s home. The police asked him to come outside. “This cop, gun drawn, is yelling at me at the top of his lungs to walk out slowly with my hands on my head,” Parfrey told me. “He’s barking at me like I’m Osama bin Laden!”
Soon enough, Adam’s frightened girlfriend is cuffed and his house searched. The police finally uncuffed them both, explaining that they had a so-called “command situation.” After they left, Adam went to Parker Center where he was told there was no record of the incident. Talk about reaching out and touching some one!
I guess I don’t need to remind you to keep your Press Club placard “NEWS MEDIA ON ASSIGNMENT!” in your vehicle at all times. I guess I also don’t need to remind you to kick with some information at collins@lapressclub.org or I’ll have to come looking for you!
