Which Way, L.A.?

LAPD Bullet Killed Infant in Shootout

Positions are hardening on both sides of the shooting-death of a 19 month-old child last Sunday in South Central LA. All sides agree there were three separate shooting episodes between Raul Pe-a and the LAPD, and that police bullets killed both Pe-a and his daughter, Susie. After that, there are a lot of questions. Chief William Bratton calls Pe-a solely responsible, saying that the "cold blooded killer" gave the police "no choice." But some community leaders have problems with that. Can the LAPD outlive its history? We hear two different positions, from Salvador Sanabria, Director of the legal and social services agency El Rescate, and civil rights attorney Connie Rice, who has both sued and represented the LAPD, and chairs the Blue Ribbon Panel on Rampart. Reporter's Notebook: Governor Schwarzenegger Consults for Fitness Magazines Today's LA Times says Governor Schwarzenegger is being paid $8 million as a consultant to Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines; the Sacramento Bee says it's $5 million. But both report that the magazines advertise body-building supplements and that, last year, the Governor vetoed a bill that would have imposed regulations on the supplement industry. The Times quotes Washington ethics-watchdog Larry Noble, who calls this an "egregious apparent conflict of interest" that "calls into question [the Governor's] judgment as to who he's working for." We hear more from State Senator Jackie Speier, author of several bills on nutritional supplements, and Bob Stern, who heads the California nonprofit Center for Governmental Studies.