Third in a series. 

Re: “Culver City’s Answer to Ferguson”

Falling into the “It Can Happen Anywhere” category, Police Chief Scott Bixby was saying that even though Culver City boasts one of America’s most diverse agencies, the ugliness of last summer in Ferguson has spilled over here.

“Indirectly it has affected us, similar to the way the O.J. trial did in the ‘90s,” Mr. Bixby said. “When we would do traffic stops or go out on a radio call and people would say things like, ‘I am going to get Johnny Cochrane for my attorney.”

Two weeks away from his first anniversary as chief, succeeding the retired Don Peterson, Mr. Bixby discussed these events as calmly as if he were asking someone to pass the margarine.

“Now we may hear comments from people who may not know all of the facts.

“Or they may be trying to paint us with a broad (anti-police) brush, as if every police agency were the same. They certainly are not. Every policy agency does things differently.”

Seeking to be precise while avoiding generalization, Mr. Bixby said “please don’t misunderstand me. I can’t speak intelligently about others. I can about Culver City.

“All I am saying is that we have things in place that I believe make us better available to the community.”

If a 148-member police department even more diverse than Culver City’s makeup can take a social pounding from suspected lawbreakers, Ferguson complaints about a police force too white do not ring true.

(To be continued)