ECCANDC

LAPD Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner - A true Hero in our City!

EMPOWERMENT CONGRESS WEST AREA NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

We have just learned and saddened by news of the passing of Deputy Chief Garner. Deputy Chief Garner was a tremendous resource to our community. Our prayers are with his family.

LAPD Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner

For Immediate Release

Contact: Eric Rose (805) 624-0572

LAPPL ISSUES STATEMENT ON DEATH OF
LAPD DEPUTY CHIEF KENNETH GARNER

Los Angeles, March 1, 2009 - On behalf of all of the members of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, President Paul M. Weber responds to the sad news that Deputy Chief Kenneth O. Garner, Commanding Officer, South Bureau, passed away suddenly this morning at his home.

" Los Angeles has suffered a great loss with the death of Deputy Chief Garner. Chief Garner's profound allegiance to the LAPD and the community warrants the appreciation and gratitude of all Angelinos. He was respected for his deep commitment to the rule of law and his profound devotion to duty. Chief Garner was devoted to protecting our community and Los Angeles is a better place for his service. The men and women of the LAPD join the community in offering our deepest sympathies and prayers to the Garner family as they endure this painful loss."

Deputy Chief's death a loss for community

By Sandy Banks

He didn't die a hero in a hail of bullets, but he will leave a hero's legacy. And though I never even met Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner, he came to represent for me the new face of the LAPD. For years, I've heard from high-ranking black officers that the Los Angeles Police Department was changing under Chief Bill Bratton -- that a commitment to supporting, rather than just policing, struggling neighborhoods was real, and rippling through lives and communities.

Last week, I saw the evidence in a conversation with Garner. I'd written a column last month about Eddie Dotson, a homeless man who had set up an elaborate, home-like encampment under a freeway overpass near USC. Last winter, a similar shelter of his had been busted up by the LAPD. So I called around before the column ran to see whether publicizing Dotson's "home" would get him kicked out again.

The officers I spoke with were sympathetic, but promised only to "try to do no harm." The day after the column ran, Garner -- the area commander -- called me at home with a straightforward pledge: His officers would not disrupt the homeless man's encampment, would not punish him for his homelessness. But he went an extra step.

Garner asked me lots of questions about Dotson -- his history, his mental state, his demeanor, his ability to care for himself and contribute to others. He recognized why an independent sort like Dotson would chafe at the confines of a homeless shelter. He offered a possible solution: USC might have a vacant building nearby that needed tending. That would get Dotson off the street, satisfy his need for order and self-sufficiency and help the university. Garner promised to talk with USC officials and get back to me this week.

On Sunday, Garner died unexpectedly. His pledge was a small thing, but resonated loudly with me. He went above and beyond a policeman's call, thought not just about safety and legalities but about the needs of one struggling man -- his desires and his dignity. He was balancing the needs of his community with a homeless man's humanity. I hung up the phone feeling grateful and relieved. And now I am left to imagine what impact a man like Garner must have made everyday on the people he met policing the streets. What a loss for us. And for the LAPD.

EMPOWERMENT CONGRESS WEST AREA NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

Funeral Services for Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Kenneth Garner

Viewing: Sunday, March 8, 2009 5-8:00pm

Location: Faith Dome 7901 S. Vermont, Los .Angeles, Calif.

Funeral Services: Monday, March 9, 2009, 10:00 am

Location: Faith Dome, 7901 S. Vermont, Los Angeles , Calif.

Always

Lark Galloway-Gilliam, MPA
Executive Director

Community Health Councils

3731 Stocker - Suite 201

Los Angeles, CA 90008

(323) 295-9372 ext 212