Combative Felony Suspect Tangles with Police

Los Angeles: A felony warrant suspect was arrested after he struggled with police in the Westlake area.   

On June 30th 2006, around 9:00 p.m., Rampart patrol officers Joel Miller, 48, and Thomas Andreas, 27, were in the area of Commonwealth Avenue and Temple Street in search of Craig Cooper, 52, who was wanted on a felony narcotics warrant for possession of cocaine.

The officers first observed Cooper walking down the street.  As they were exiting their vehicle, Cooper saw them and started running.  The officers followed and eventually caught up to him.  While attempting to arrest him, he became combative and began fighting with the officers. As the fight progressed, Cooper was taken to the ground and continued to resist.  After a short time, the officers were able to take him into custody.

During the search of Cooper, cocaine, marijuana and other drug paraphernalia were found in his possession

During the struggle Cooper sustained a small laceration to his eyebrow. Paramedics were called and he was taken to the Los Angeles County Medical Center (LACMC) where he was treated.  He also complained of neck and back pain and was ultimately admitted to LACMC.

Craig Cooper was booked for possession of narcotics and on the felony warrant.

Forced Investigation Division is investigating the incident.  Officer Miller has been with the LAPD for 7 years and Officer Andreas has been and officer for 5 years.

This incident was initially reported as a non-categorical use of force which, resulted in its delayed reporting.   

Comments

[George]

I still do not understand why LAPD is not using a taser system.. Officer injuries go down and suspect injuries go down as a dirct result from using this device. Why struggle with a combatative individual when you can just taken down with 50,000 volts of T wave power. Citizens can carry them in california.. The LAPD needs to take a good look at this device...

[LT Anita Fan]

Hey Lt, why is this incident a catergorical UOF? The press release says that the suspect sustained a small laceration to his eyebrow.

Now a cadre of 20 yr veteran Dets have to investigate a minor scuffle that 2 cops had to engage in to effect an arrest.

If 3 civilians engaged in this act, a simple 2 man radio-car would have been dispacthed and a 2 page report would have been initiated at best.

Please Chief Bratton, change this obviously silly admin. procedure! These Dets should be out investigating serious crimes, the public deserves this.

Our motto used to be 'To Protect and Serve', now it's 'To Protect our As*es and Serve No One'.....

[LEO]

Things must be slow in Rampart. Patrol is now searching for a 52 year old suspect wanted on a 11350 bench warrant? The court will probably give him Prop. 36, then 37, then 38....and so on. No one does time anymore on dope.

[B&W; Op]

George:

The LAPD has been using Tasers since the 80's and has probably used it on more suspects than any other agency in the world. The LAPD is getting ready to purchase newer versions of the Taser which will be available to each field officer.

Unfortunately, at this time the number of Tasers available to officers is limited and some officers will not have it in the field. I'm sure that was the case here.

In some situations, things develop so fast that even if the Taser is available, there is no time to deploy it. No piece of equipment is foolproof. In the end, physical force is all that's available right away.

[Lt. De La Torre]

Lt. Anita Fan

The moment Cooper was hospitialized by the physician it elevated the use of force to a Categorical.

[steve]

Steve,
What are you saying? The cops should not be looking for that felony warrant suspect. What is your point? I guess you had a beeter arrest that night and you would like to share with everyone. Maybe your division is alot faster. Please share.

[Rick]

LAPD will inv things to hammer the officers,,,tactics, not going c6,,,and beware if they used a bad word or two,,,prediction...3-5 days ,,,no pay...RIDICULOUS!

[LEO]

Steve are you addressing yourself?

LT, summons BSS forthwith!

[lawgirl]

In response to LEO. That's what good, hardworking proactive cops do. They search for warrant suspects when they are not chasing the radio. They know their beat and they look for the handfull of repeat offending suspects causing the 10% of crime, applying the Chief's 10 percent theory. As unfortunate as the miserable process is for categorizing a use of force. The sad reality is, that it was his little eybrow boo-boo, which is now classified as, "Head Trauma". If anything needs to be looked at, it is the ridiculous and burdensome review process. This incident probably took hundreds of supervisor and police man hours to investigate and thousands of dollars racked up in investigative time. This is why there is little to no supervision of officers in the field. The public would be appalled at what the overzealous anti-police few have done to undermine the safety of the general public. In this day of oversight ad nauseum and ad infinitum, the belief that any police officer is out of control and running amok on society is laughable. They are spending too much time writing dozen page reports so everyone else doesn't have to read it. And as far as Tasers go, they only work when you have more than 2 seconds to decide what you are going to do and can pull it out of the trunk. It's a great tool unless you consider the 15 pounds of other equipment that officers are "Required" to have on them at any given time. God forbid an officer get into an altercation with a suspect and have to explain months down the road why they didn't have a piece of required equipment hanging on their belt to use at the time. The current tasers are bulky and cumbersome. Once the new ones come out where some officers may find that iota of space to squeeze one more thing on their belt, then they should be more available. Of course don't expect to be able to jump out of the car as you untangle your stuff from the seatbelt. It's a good thing that back pain is now presumptive for police. I'm actually glad that this forum exists. It finally gives hard working field coppers a chance to educate the public and John Q Citizen why we are so restricted, and why everything doesn't happen like CSI. It is much harder to live in the now, trying to recall every single thought and move that you make struggling with a suspect for 10 seconds, than to sit back and second guess someones actions picked apart for months for the world to see. That is why it's hard to get good cops on the street, who wants to go through that when the brass won't support you?

[Jim Jones]

Lawgirl,

It sounds like you 'drank the kool-aid' and asked for seconds!

Ten percent theory huh, I thought ol' George "No One Loves Me More Than I Do" Gascon took that bit to Mesa PD.

Sell that crap to the tourists, not to the street cops.

As for being proactive, let me remind you, the year is 2006, not 1986. Answer your radio-calls, back-up your fellow cops, mind your own business. That's the key to survival in today's LAPD.

[Jhon Doe]

I agree with lawgirl. The only time that we have a taser on our person, is when the radio call is for a possible agressive/combative on officers, on PCP, OR a physically LARGE individual. IF those descriptors aren't broadcast prior to arriving at the call... the taser stays in the trunk. AND IT WILL STAY there for three reasons, 1) added weight to our belt, 2) fear of getting "hung up" when bailing out of the car, 3) AND (finally) the 110% chance of having IA (and/or brass) having ANOTHER reason to punish us for doing their jobs..

[LAPD Copper]

Hey LEO:
I happen to know one of the Rampart coppers rather well, and he is one of THE MOST PRODUCTIVE OFFICERS LAPD has on the job. While others smile and waive, or respond to loud music calls he puts felons in jail who likely burglarize cars, homes, etc. When you stop bringing your pillow to work, and driving with your windows up maybe then you should criticize Rampart patrol.

[lawgirl]

Well Mr. Jones,

I truly feel sorry for you and I hope that you are not subjecting hard charging, hard working cops with that venom that you seem to have in your own "kool-aid" glass.

If you want to be disgruntled, that's your choice. You have serious issues. Seek therapy.

Otherwise, you have a right to your opinion, and I have a right to tell you to stuff it! In the mean time, I will continue to get up, go to work and do the job I get paid to do with a smile. It keeps the ulcers away.... :)

[Line Reserve Guy]

Jim Jones reminds me of another bitter, nothing good to say about anything LAPD related guy I knew on a now defunct LEO website. The Coppers who did their job should rightfully be applauded for a job well done. It's what us tax payers expect of our men and women in blue and an example of the professionalism that can be expected from 99.9% of all LAPD Cops....(Jim Jones excluded)

[LEO]

Hey reserve guy; once you've walked in the fotsteps of a real LEO, you don't know whats like to be a police officer. Im sorry. Jim jones speaks for the silent majority of this dept. He definitely echoes my feelings. Everything seems peachy-keen when you are a reserve or have less than ten years on the dept, but once you pass that plateau, you'll "get" what Mr. Jones is conveying.

If everyone on the department did what Jones suggested (backing each other up) you would see a lot more happy cops. Its a simple equation, but yet the brass neglects to do so time and time again.

[THE.CASTLE]

Jim Jones your a slap...........retire...no, better yet, continue to do the work you do, that way the rest of us can deal with the adam henry's...put on the bliners and c the man....

[v]

Again No untiy... how about hey jim what happen to you why are you angry what can I do or we do to help you or maybe there is a problem with our department we need to fix.... As long as you stay diveded your weak and the dept can do whatever they want!!!

[Line Reserve Guy]

Hey Leo...
I do know what the rank and file of the LAPD have to put up with and I DO sympathize with them a lot, like having the likes of John Mack as President of the Police Commission,(Say What??!!) OR the DA not pressing charges on Tony Muhammad, the many the pencil pushers at Parker Center who are only concerned with promoting and have forgotten why they became cops in the first place and don't support their hard working men and women, etc. I just don't know why some piled on the Rampart officers who caught the felony suspect.... seems weird to me to choose this topic to air your legitimate grievances...but then again, what do Reserves know...right?

[m officer]

Line Reserve Guy,
Well said, I commend you for doing what you do for free!

As for the comments posted prior, I "think" they show the frustration shared by many. Although I don't agree with putting blinders on, those who have because of what the department has done to them, well I am not going to tow the company line, I don't blame them.

I agree with V, no unity, it is sad to see officers attacking each other. The Castle, do we really need to call each other names. I think we need to post a professional image, especially since anyone can access this site.
I understand that those who choose to put blinders on, make our job more difficult, but again I have seen what some have been through, and I can't say I blame them.

V says it best if we stay divided, we stay weak. Maybe that is what some want.