Savoldelli FTO interview PBS1, 1991-06-03 |
Save page Remove page | Previous | 29 of 32 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large (1000x1000 max)
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
|
i) 1-Ij 8 0 ' ' . " • • • la. NAME OF INTERVIEWER: Paul B. Savoldelli lb. DATE OF INTERVIEW: June 3, 1991 le. LENGTH OF INTERVIEW: 2 1/2 hours ld. NOTES: --- ~ - .. ... -· .. ~ - - ·-..... -- ~ - - --- -........ - ·- ~-. . 2. I.D. CODE: PBSl 3. SEX: Male 4. RACE: Caucasian 5. AGE: .. 6. DIVISION: Van Nuys 7 . CURRENT RANKLASSIGNMENT: 8. MISC. PERSONAL BACKGROUND PRIOR TO ENTERING ACADEMY: 10. RECRUITMENT - RACE AND BIAS ISSUES: - felt that there was a lot of "reverse discrimination" during the recruitment period. He considered the written exam to be "a basic 7th grade evaluation test" and SAV00162.WP • • • found that written exams for other police departments in the state (many of which use the POST exam) were much more thorough. He found the oral test to be more comprehensive and a better measure of judgment and other factors necessary to become an LAPD officer. was required to take the oral exam three times because, although his scores were high, they were not sufficiently high for the standards required of white males (he scored 87 on his first test, 93 on his second and 96 on his third test). His conversations with the testing officers and with other recruits gave him the impression that there was quota-based hiring and that white males were discriminated against. His co-workers and friends who were minorities were being admitted to the LAPD with lower scores. noted that there should be more emphasis on confidentiality of scores and that the recruits should not talk about scores. Knowledge about other people's scores creates a certain amount of acrimony because -of the disparity in hiring practices. 11. RECRUITMENT - TESTING TO ENTER ACADEMY: On the whole, this probationary officer found the testing process to be very lengthy and, except for the oral exam, to be relatively worthless . 12. ACADEMY - ASSESSMENT OF CURRICULUM/POSSIBLE AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: This probationary officer believes that it is the unanimous opinion of all his classmates there is not enough tactics training at the Academy. The Academy spends too much time on courses such as Spanish (104 hours) and yet only 60 hours on tactics which is "required for your survival". The recruit asked, "do they want us to communicate or to survive?" In addition to not enough training on tactics, only one day is spent on actual simulation. This means that the recruits go into the field with very little training which attempts to integrate what they have learned with real-world situations. He felt the simulation training was good but there just wasn't enough of it. The recruit also believed there should be more field training during the Academy. currently there are 3 days of field training, 2 in a car, and 1 in a jail. 13. ACADEMY - EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTORS: According to this probationary officer, the instructors at the Academy were "very good" and very approachable, even after the Academy was over. The LAPD apparently encourages SAV00162.WP -2- probationers to ask questions from their instructors even after they leave the Academy. The probationary officer expressed some concern about an apparent push to change the teaching methods at the Academy from having experts from each field teach individual classes to having on.e teacher basically teach recruits the entire curriculum. He felt strongly that experts in the field should teach individual classes. 14. ACADEMY - EVALUATION OF TESTING: No comment recorded. 15. ACADEMY - USE OF FORCE TRAINING: This officer believes that there is a conflict between what is taught in the Academy and what should be required to be taught to prepare officers for life on the street. He felt that the POST mandated training was very thorough, but that it is not really applicable to situations on the street. For example, the POST method of frisking and handcuffing is too time-consuming and is not practical when trying to deal with multiple individuals in a real life situation. 16. ACADEMY - PHYSICAL TRAINING/BOOT CAMP/STRESS TESTING: This officer's family had been in the Marines, and he felt that the discipline and boot camp mentality of the Academy was good. He felt that the screaming and stress testing was probably good training for what happens on the street. He stated that, "people are always in your face in the street and you better learn how to deal with it". 17. ACADEMY - COMMUNITY POLICING AND CRISIS INTERVENTION: This officer felt that the crisis intervention training at the Academy was very good. He especially liked the mediation training which, he felt, gave him certain skills to try and avoid problems. He also noted that many of his training officers were big "on public relations" and liked to interact with the community. 18. ACADEMY - DISCUSSION OF RODNEY KING INCIDENT: The Rodney King incident was a "big subject" of discussion at the Academy during this officer's training. Over the course of several weeks, almost every class was opened with a discussion of the Rodney King incident. This officer believes that the King incident made "8,400 people look real bad" and that it was "not good for the family". He stated that he has not witnessed any racial SAV00162.WP -3- .. problems at the Academy or during his field training and also thought that Chief Gates did not promote a racially intolerant attitude. 19. PROBATIONARY PERIOD - RELATIONSHIP TO ACADEMY TRAINING: This officer believes strongly that there should be more integration between the training of the probationary period and the training of the Academy. In particular, there should be more time on simulation training which attempts to provide a "real life" view of the world. 20. PROBATIONARY PERIOD - EVALUATION OF FTO'S AND FTO'S VIEW OF ACADEMY TRAINING: In general, this officer believes that his FTOs are excellent. In addition, he commented that the FTOs don't really disregard the Academy training, although they do attempt to make it more practical. The comments regarding use of force training in Paragraph 15 above are relevant. 21. PROBATIONARY PERIOD - USE OF FORCE: Not discussed. 22. MISCELLANEOUS/SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT: This officer's primary suggestions for improvement are noted above with respect to more simulation training. He believes that additional simulation training could easily be provided at the Academy by limiting and focusing the Spanish training. He noted that most of the students treat Spanish as a "blow off" course, and that even after more than 100 hours of training, he would not be able to converse with anybody in Spanish. The Spanish course is primarily geared at giving officers basic skills with respect to basic police commands in Spanish. · SAV00162.WP -4-
Object Description
Title | LAPD interviews #3(b) (2 of 2), 1991 May-June |
Description | Los Angeles Police Department interviews #3(b) (2 of 2), 1991 May 31 - June 19. PART OF A SERIES: Materials in the series fall into one of several categories related to the Independent Commission's work product: (1) Commission meeting materials, which include meeting agendas, work plans, memoranda, and articles about police misconduct that were circulated and reviewed during the Commission's internal meetings; (2) public correspondence, which includes citizen complaints against the LAPD in the form of written testimony, articles, and an audio cassette tape, as well as letters drafted by citizens in support of the LAPD; (3) summaries of interviews held with LAPD officers regarding Departmental procedures and relations; (4) public meeting materials, which include transcripts, supplementary documents, and witness statements that were reviewed at the Commission's public meetings; (5) press releases related to the formation and work product of the Commission; and (6) miscellaneous materials reviewed by the Commission during its study, including LAPD personnel and training manuals, a memorandum of understanding, and messages from the LAPD's Mobile Digital Terminal (MDT) system. |
Coverage date | 1991-05-31/1991-06-19 |
Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California |
Date created | 1991-05-31/1991-06-19 |
Type | texts |
Format | 213 p. |
Format (aat) | transcriptions (documents) |
Format (imt) | application/pdf |
Language | English |
Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
Part of collection | Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, 1991 |
Series | Independent Commission File List |
File | Los Angeles Police Department Interviews |
Box and folder | box 24, folder 14 |
Provenance | The collection was given to the University of Southern California on July 31, 1991. |
Rights | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained. |
Physical access | Contact: Special Collections, Doheny Memorial Library, Libraries, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189; specol@dots.usc.edu |
Repository name | USC Libraries Special Collections |
Repository address | Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189 |
Repository email | specol@dots.usc.edu |
Filename | indep-box24-14 |
Description
Title | Savoldelli FTO interview PBS1, 1991-06-03 |
Description | Savoldelli FTO interviews - PBS1 Caucasian male from Van Nuys division |
Coverage date | 1991-06-03 |
Date created | 1991-06-03 |
Type | texts |
Format | 5 p. |
Format (aat) | transcriptions (documents) |
Format (imt) | application/pdf |
Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
Series | Independent Commission File List |
File | Los Angeles Police Department Interviews |
Box and folder | box 24, folder 14, item 29 |
Physical access | Contact: Special Collections, Doheny Memorial Library, Libraries, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189; specol@dots.usc.edu |
Full text | i) 1-Ij 8 0 ' ' . " • • • la. NAME OF INTERVIEWER: Paul B. Savoldelli lb. DATE OF INTERVIEW: June 3, 1991 le. LENGTH OF INTERVIEW: 2 1/2 hours ld. NOTES: --- ~ - .. ... -· .. ~ - - ·-..... -- ~ - - --- -........ - ·- ~-. . 2. I.D. CODE: PBSl 3. SEX: Male 4. RACE: Caucasian 5. AGE: .. 6. DIVISION: Van Nuys 7 . CURRENT RANKLASSIGNMENT: 8. MISC. PERSONAL BACKGROUND PRIOR TO ENTERING ACADEMY: 10. RECRUITMENT - RACE AND BIAS ISSUES: - felt that there was a lot of "reverse discrimination" during the recruitment period. He considered the written exam to be "a basic 7th grade evaluation test" and SAV00162.WP • • • found that written exams for other police departments in the state (many of which use the POST exam) were much more thorough. He found the oral test to be more comprehensive and a better measure of judgment and other factors necessary to become an LAPD officer. was required to take the oral exam three times because, although his scores were high, they were not sufficiently high for the standards required of white males (he scored 87 on his first test, 93 on his second and 96 on his third test). His conversations with the testing officers and with other recruits gave him the impression that there was quota-based hiring and that white males were discriminated against. His co-workers and friends who were minorities were being admitted to the LAPD with lower scores. noted that there should be more emphasis on confidentiality of scores and that the recruits should not talk about scores. Knowledge about other people's scores creates a certain amount of acrimony because -of the disparity in hiring practices. 11. RECRUITMENT - TESTING TO ENTER ACADEMY: On the whole, this probationary officer found the testing process to be very lengthy and, except for the oral exam, to be relatively worthless . 12. ACADEMY - ASSESSMENT OF CURRICULUM/POSSIBLE AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: This probationary officer believes that it is the unanimous opinion of all his classmates there is not enough tactics training at the Academy. The Academy spends too much time on courses such as Spanish (104 hours) and yet only 60 hours on tactics which is "required for your survival". The recruit asked, "do they want us to communicate or to survive?" In addition to not enough training on tactics, only one day is spent on actual simulation. This means that the recruits go into the field with very little training which attempts to integrate what they have learned with real-world situations. He felt the simulation training was good but there just wasn't enough of it. The recruit also believed there should be more field training during the Academy. currently there are 3 days of field training, 2 in a car, and 1 in a jail. 13. ACADEMY - EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTORS: According to this probationary officer, the instructors at the Academy were "very good" and very approachable, even after the Academy was over. The LAPD apparently encourages SAV00162.WP -2- probationers to ask questions from their instructors even after they leave the Academy. The probationary officer expressed some concern about an apparent push to change the teaching methods at the Academy from having experts from each field teach individual classes to having on.e teacher basically teach recruits the entire curriculum. He felt strongly that experts in the field should teach individual classes. 14. ACADEMY - EVALUATION OF TESTING: No comment recorded. 15. ACADEMY - USE OF FORCE TRAINING: This officer believes that there is a conflict between what is taught in the Academy and what should be required to be taught to prepare officers for life on the street. He felt that the POST mandated training was very thorough, but that it is not really applicable to situations on the street. For example, the POST method of frisking and handcuffing is too time-consuming and is not practical when trying to deal with multiple individuals in a real life situation. 16. ACADEMY - PHYSICAL TRAINING/BOOT CAMP/STRESS TESTING: This officer's family had been in the Marines, and he felt that the discipline and boot camp mentality of the Academy was good. He felt that the screaming and stress testing was probably good training for what happens on the street. He stated that, "people are always in your face in the street and you better learn how to deal with it". 17. ACADEMY - COMMUNITY POLICING AND CRISIS INTERVENTION: This officer felt that the crisis intervention training at the Academy was very good. He especially liked the mediation training which, he felt, gave him certain skills to try and avoid problems. He also noted that many of his training officers were big "on public relations" and liked to interact with the community. 18. ACADEMY - DISCUSSION OF RODNEY KING INCIDENT: The Rodney King incident was a "big subject" of discussion at the Academy during this officer's training. Over the course of several weeks, almost every class was opened with a discussion of the Rodney King incident. This officer believes that the King incident made "8,400 people look real bad" and that it was "not good for the family". He stated that he has not witnessed any racial SAV00162.WP -3- .. problems at the Academy or during his field training and also thought that Chief Gates did not promote a racially intolerant attitude. 19. PROBATIONARY PERIOD - RELATIONSHIP TO ACADEMY TRAINING: This officer believes strongly that there should be more integration between the training of the probationary period and the training of the Academy. In particular, there should be more time on simulation training which attempts to provide a "real life" view of the world. 20. PROBATIONARY PERIOD - EVALUATION OF FTO'S AND FTO'S VIEW OF ACADEMY TRAINING: In general, this officer believes that his FTOs are excellent. In addition, he commented that the FTOs don't really disregard the Academy training, although they do attempt to make it more practical. The comments regarding use of force training in Paragraph 15 above are relevant. 21. PROBATIONARY PERIOD - USE OF FORCE: Not discussed. 22. MISCELLANEOUS/SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT: This officer's primary suggestions for improvement are noted above with respect to more simulation training. He believes that additional simulation training could easily be provided at the Academy by limiting and focusing the Spanish training. He noted that most of the students treat Spanish as a "blow off" course, and that even after more than 100 hours of training, he would not be able to converse with anybody in Spanish. The Spanish course is primarily geared at giving officers basic skills with respect to basic police commands in Spanish. · SAV00162.WP -4- |
Filename | indep-box24-14-29.pdf |
Archival file | Volume81/indep-box24-14-29.pdf |