His
decision to leave at the end of October takes Los Angeles political and
police leadership by surprise. During his tenure, Bratton dramatically
reshaped the force and pushed down crime rates.
By Joel Rubin
1:02 PM PDT, August 5, 2009
William
J. Bratton today announced his plan to resign as chief of the Los
Angeles Police Department to take over as head of a private security
firm.
Not a huge surprise that he's leaving. There have been rumors that he's been looking around. Probably would be the head of Homeland Security had Sir Hillary been elected President. And there was even talk of Scotland Yard.
"...aides to his boss, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, said the mayor knew nothing..."
Yeah, what else is new. Mayor Douche. Freaking. Bag.
Despite his "tough talk," Bratton always was a politician. But really for a big city police department, that's about all you can expect from a chief. He threw his officers under the bus a few times, when politically prudent, most especially during the whole May Day illegal immigrant rally turned altercation. He cared about and fostered his own image more than he cared about the LAPD. But in the end, overall, he wasn't too bad - made some needed improvements, stood up against criminals and crime-sympathizers a lot of the time, and stood behind his officers in many situations. He filled the role better than most players of the game politic at least - but still disappointingly he kissed a lot of asses, caved to the race-baiters, etc. But given the political climate in LA, and the dipshits they have as a mayor and on the city council, it's more than possible that they're going to end up with something much, much, much worse when he departs. In the end, sorry to see him go.
Of course, he picked a good time to bail, at least for his resume. Get out now, before the coming crime waves which will hit as a result of economic downturns and California's inability to fully fund the prison system.