gunsmith
member
Four Inglewood schools officers who guarded rapper face dismissal
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(08-26) 03:08 PDT INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) --
The acting school district police chief wants to fire four officers who moonlighted as bodyguards for rapper Snoop Dogg.
Wesley Mitchell is also pushing to step up background checks and further restrict off-duty jobs.
"What police department wants to have themselves affiliated with rap stars?" Mitchell said. "We are trying to ensure this is a very credible police department."
About a third of the 32 full-time and reserve Inglewood Unified School District officers have guarded Snoop Dogg, a convicted felon whose real name is Calvin Broadus.
Eight officers, including four affiliated with the rapper, have been dismissed for either failing to get background checks or not reporting to work for several months, Mitchell said.
The school board is to review his decisions this week, though board president Eveline Ross said the interim chief does not have the authority to make final decisions.
One Inglewood officer was injured in April when an unknown gunman fired on the rapper's motorcade, which also included at least four other officers for the school district. Two officers were in the rapper's entourage in June when police and federal agents pulled over vehicles that dropped Snoop Dogg off at the BET Awards in Hollywood.
At the time, police confiscated weapons and indicated the rapper and his bodyguards could face charges for violating a federal law prohibiting a convicted felon from being protected by armed guards. Inglewood school officer Marcus Thompson was later arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon and an unregistered handgun, but no federal charges have been filed against Broadus after the incident.
Inglewood officer Leslie Gaulden, among those who received termination notices, said he did nothing wrong by guarding Snoop Dogg and was unaware his client was a felon. He said other officers were jealous of the money he and others make by guarding the rapper.
"There's a lot of reserve officers walking around with six-figure incomes," Gaulden said.
The state Department of Corrections is scrutinizing outside work by its employees in the region after three of its parole agents were detained outside the awards show in June.
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(08-26) 03:08 PDT INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) --
The acting school district police chief wants to fire four officers who moonlighted as bodyguards for rapper Snoop Dogg.
Wesley Mitchell is also pushing to step up background checks and further restrict off-duty jobs.
"What police department wants to have themselves affiliated with rap stars?" Mitchell said. "We are trying to ensure this is a very credible police department."
About a third of the 32 full-time and reserve Inglewood Unified School District officers have guarded Snoop Dogg, a convicted felon whose real name is Calvin Broadus.
Eight officers, including four affiliated with the rapper, have been dismissed for either failing to get background checks or not reporting to work for several months, Mitchell said.
The school board is to review his decisions this week, though board president Eveline Ross said the interim chief does not have the authority to make final decisions.
One Inglewood officer was injured in April when an unknown gunman fired on the rapper's motorcade, which also included at least four other officers for the school district. Two officers were in the rapper's entourage in June when police and federal agents pulled over vehicles that dropped Snoop Dogg off at the BET Awards in Hollywood.
At the time, police confiscated weapons and indicated the rapper and his bodyguards could face charges for violating a federal law prohibiting a convicted felon from being protected by armed guards. Inglewood school officer Marcus Thompson was later arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon and an unregistered handgun, but no federal charges have been filed against Broadus after the incident.
Inglewood officer Leslie Gaulden, among those who received termination notices, said he did nothing wrong by guarding Snoop Dogg and was unaware his client was a felon. He said other officers were jealous of the money he and others make by guarding the rapper.
"There's a lot of reserve officers walking around with six-figure incomes," Gaulden said.
The state Department of Corrections is scrutinizing outside work by its employees in the region after three of its parole agents were detained outside the awards show in June.
