There was a great, inspiring article in yesterday’s Los Angeles Downtown News. Commander Andy Smith of the LAPD was profiled in the newspaper as a ‘good bye’ from the downtown community. Smith has accepted assignment to South Bureau Criminal Gang Homicide Group, where he should continue his string of successes.
When you have advocates for the homeless singing the praises of a police officer, you can be sure that things are going right:
“I don’t think we had [a commander] who embraced the issues of what happens on the streets with the same level of enthusiasm and open-mindedness as Commander Smith,” said Orlando Ward, public affairs director for the Midnight Mission.
Chief Bratton had the following to say:
“He is a caring, compassionate person, and in that command in particular, Central, with all of the deprivation and so many lives that are so severely impacted in a negative way, Andy just seemed to be the right fit.”
Anyway, I was inspired by the courageous story of Andy Smith, his quest to clean up downtown, and his whistle blowing on the issue of ‘homeless dumping.’ Do yourself a favor and read this article. Then be thankful that we have dedicated people like Cmdr. Smith serving the public day in and day out.