The appointment of Andre Birotte Jr. by President Obama as top prosecutor in L A is quite significant for the overall plan that the Prez has for his people. Obama has come under criticism and been accused of not doing enough for black folks. In the political arena one must first get all their ducks in a row. Healthcare is the biggest problem facing the country and it's a win-win situation for most of us that struggle to make ends meet if and when the system is ever fixed. So just what is it that black folks are expecting? Well if you ask most blacks the answer would be financial enrichment. But before that is to happen we must first have people like Birotte in place to watch our backs. The only way they've been able to keep us in place lately is to circumnavigate the law. Think about it!
Andre Birotte Jr., who for the last six years has served as the Los Angeles Police Department's inspector general, has been tapped by President Obama to become the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, the White House announced Thursday.
If confirmed by the Senate, Birotte, 43, would become the first black man to serve as U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.
The Times reported in October that he was the likely nominee.
"I am honored and humbled by this nomination," said Birotte, who learned of the news early Thursday while visiting family on the East Coast for the holidays.
As U.S. attorney, he would oversee the nation's second-largest office with about 275 lawyers and a seven-county jurisdiction that spans most of Southern California.
It would mark his second stint in the office, where he worked as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1995 to 1999.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who recommended Birotte, praised him for having the support of both the police officers he is charged with investigating as inspector general and the various community groups who turn to his office with complaints regarding alleged police abuses.
"This ability to command respect from all sides bodes well for his nomination," Feinstein said in a press release.
Paul W. Weber, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents most of the department's nearly 10,000 officers, echoed that sentiment.
Weber called Birotte a man of "fairness and integrity" who sought out the league's views on various situations that arose while he was the LAPD's watchdog.
"He treated us as equals. He wanted our input," Weber said. "Then he made whatever decision he needed to make."
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, who has dealt with Birotte on issues including the federal consent decree enacted in the wake of the Rampart scandal and officer-involved shootings, said: "He didn't always see things as I saw them. But I never felt him to be someone who was swayed by politics or the media or the vocal minority. He is swayed by doing the right thing."
The U.S. attorney position has been vacant since the September resignation of Thomas P. O'Brien, a career prosecutor who oversaw a massive increase in criminal filings and a wave of new hiring in the office.
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