LA Media Focuses on LAPD Woes and Ignores the Heroes

There's not much question that a lot went wrong during the May Day immigration protest in Los Angeles and subsequent police actions, and that's been the total focus of the L.A. media ever since. However, there's one LAPD story that the media ignored and was worthy of covering (though it might have helped soften the image of the LAPD - something no member of the media in L.A. dare do). Jack Dunphy (the nom-de-cyber of an actual LAPD officer) posts this piece at Patterico.com:

On the first Saturday of every June, LAPD officers gather at Dockweiller Beach for the annual Police Memorial Run, held to honor officers who have given up their lives in the line of duty. At last year’s event, Officer Kristina Ripatti participated in the relay race and joined her coworkers for a barbecue before heading off to work at Southwest Division. That night, she and her partner Joe Meyer went in foot pursuit of a man who, unknown to them, had just robbed a gas station across the street from the police station. The man pulled a gun and shot Ripatti, paralyzing her from the chest down. Meyer shot and killed the suspect on the spot.

At this year’s event, Ripatti covered most of the running course in her wheelchair, but then, in one of the most remarkable displays of strength and determination I’ve ever witnessed, used a walker to cross the last fifty feet to the finish line.

At a time when the local media remain focused to the point of obsession on the MacArthur Park melee, it’s important to remember the risks cops willingly face every day they put on the uniform. One hears a lot of talk about the “LAPD culture” and its supposed role in what happened at MacArthur Park, but the department’s true culture was on display Saturday morning at Dockweiller Beach, most notably in the person of Kristina Ripatti. There just weren’t any reporters there to tell you about it.

There are still a lot of heroes on the LAPD. Just don't look to the media to tell you about them.