Thursday, March 06, 2008

Caught in a crossfire (a real one)

East Los Angeles is a long way from east Charlotte, but that's where Democrat Lloyd Scher went as part of his campaign for the N.C. House.

A former Mecklenburg County commissioner, Scher is running against Rep. Tricia Cotham in the Democratic primary. She's made anti-gang legislation a top priority in Raleigh. Scher says he would too.

Two weeks ago, his research took him to East L.A. There, he says, he drove through a gang-infested neighborhood with an L.A. cop. They sped to a call where a member of the Avenues gang had been shooting at police with an AK-47. When they got there, another jumped up and started firing a handgun. A third gang member took hostages.

The first gunman was killed by police. The second one was shot and arrested. While Scher waited in a mobile command post, the third was arrested after a 7 1/2-hour hostage ordeal.

"It was scary, I will tell you that," said Scher. "But I'm glad it was because it showed me how dangerous the gang situation is. And if we don't do something now, we could be facing this in Charlotte."

He said he's also visited with police in New York and Chicago. He and Cotham are running in District 100 that covers east Charlotte and Matthews.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was confirmed by Jim Morill who talked with the Police Officers and the pictures that Commissioner Posted on his web site. The photo show him at the location of the shooting with the Police Department and the Avenue Gang.

Why would he make something like this up when it can be verified by the police department officials. He also has audio of the interviews he took of the Deputy Chief and the LT, Nanson. I guess the Cotham supporters would claim that it was not true.

Unknown said...

There seems to be a question about me being at a LA Drive by Shooting on Thursday February 21.

Let me set the record straight I was in the Police Car as we sped through LA to get to the scene of the shooting. When we got there the first gunman who had the AK-47 was laying dead in the street with the AK-47 on top of him. The second gunman had gone down shot by one of the Police Officers he laid there until the LA Fire Department treated him. He was bleeding out of his left side from his hip or thigh.

At first I was within a 150 feet of everything until they moved the staging area back another block. I stood outside for hours watching everything happening I started taking pictures with my Mobile Phone some 30 minutes after arriving. I then sat in the Command Post and watched as some where around 100 Police Officers started searching for the third person who got away.

I finally was offered a seat in the Command Post and sat there listening to the Swat Teams, Dog Handlers and other Police Officers who took part in the search. I was able to hear the Police Copter tell officers where to go to look for the third person.

After 7.5 hours of being at the site one of the Dog Handlers found the guy and the dog brought him down. There was a TV in the Command Post showing the scene from the copter keeping everyone on the ground informed.

The event began at 11:55 AM PST and ended at 8:45 PM PST.

I got to talk with the LA Police Deputy Chief and others the next day to get there quotes and thoughts about the events of the day before. They were very generous with their time. I asked for them for suggestions as to what is more important Intervention or Prevention. They provided me with several excellent suggestions for Prevention Programs. I have posted those suggestions on my website www.lloydscher.com by clicking on Gang Video.

What I learned from this trip is that there is a horrible cycle that goes on and on. We need to stop our Gang problem before it reaches the level in California. The Prevention Programs are a starting point for the community to discuss. These Solutions are what I will take to Raleigh when I’m elected to the House of Representatives.

I find it sad that the only thing my challenger can think of is: “Did I really see this and was I there or did I lie.” The person showed to be a coward by sending an anonymous statement calling me names. I put myslef on the line so I can serve the community and provide straight forward Solutions to meet serious and dangerous issues.

Commissioner Lloyd Scher

Anonymous said...

Didn't know you were still a Commissioner, Lloyd !

Unknown said...

That is my title. Former Presidents, Governors, State Senators, State Representatives and Commissioners keep their title until they are elected to another position.

Remember after Rep. Cotham loses the primary on May 6, she will still be called Representative Cotham out of respect for her service to the public. As a matter of fact when the Democratic Party honored Commissioner Jim Richardson it was several years after he left public office and the plaque given to him had his title and name on it and several of the speakers called him Commissioner Richardson.

All My Best
Commissioner Scher

PS Get over it!

Unknown said...

Anonymous why don't you use your name you sure are a coward to just leave a comment and not your name.

Anonymous said...

dude, he did leave his name at the end of the comment you retard...it would help if you could read huh?

Unknown said...

Anonymous I'm sorry but when you list your name as Annoymous it does not show your name.

It is a shame that you do not understand what anonymous means. It does not show your name. So again I ask you why do you send your anonymous comments. All you have to do is type in your name.

Commissioner Lloyd Scher

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