Author: CJ Nord

Our purpose is to inspire the entire supply chain profession to make a difference in injustice that causes harm to humanity. That’s what this is all about.

This is a copy of the letter I sent to Sheriff Robert Luna of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department in 2023, as we worked to drive lasting, positive change with problematic shooting targets. We are still ardently working to right this wrong in Los Angeles and across the nation’s law enforcement teams.

Dear Sheriff Luna,
Today I present to you the opportunity to drive lasting, positive change.

This change, compared to the other dragons you are slaying, is fairly simple, and the steps I propose are likely entirely within your own power. In supply chain, and operations we call this sort of challenge, “Low hanging fruit” You can see it, and see how to pick it. There’s still hard work, but it’s cut and dried.

Here’s the issue. Using shooting targets that look like specific ethnic groups has been part of America’s systemic racism since the beginning. It is a centuries old sick joke played on both the protectors of society and on society since the founding of our nation, and it is high time for change.

It is both my compassion for our protectors, as well as my passion for community safety that inspire this mission. Please allow me to share a couple stories from my own life to explain that statement.

A veteran who served time in Federal prison for the wrongful murder of a civilian in Afghanistan, and a law enforcement officer whose career, physical, and mental health were shattered because of his own role in the wrongful killing of a Black man in LA both attributed their actions to being trained to shoot using targets which looked like the ethnic group of the person murdered. Each man told me their story directly. Their faces full of both anger and anguish. How can one go on with something so heavy on their heart? Yes, they fell, but the training tripped them.

These are the steps I propose to correct the situation.

1. Notify the LASD Head of Procurement, and Supply Chain to stop purchasing shooting targets which look like specific ethnic groups. Ideally the targets would also be featureless, and in colors human beings don’t come in such as blue, and green.
2. Notify all purchasers which are outside of the Procurement, and Supply Chain department that reimbursement for shooting targets which look like specific ethnic groups ends either immediately, or within the shortest reasonable period possible such as 30 days.
3. Ethnic shooting targets will be somewhere in the LASD inventory. Have them pulled, accounted for, and destroyed.
   That’s the lowest hanging fruit. The next steps could be a lot tougher.
4. Inform all LASD officers that they may not use ethnic shooting targets on ranges outside of the department on, or off duty.
5. Train officers to be aware of how deeply target shooting trains their motor skills, and that if they use an ethnic image for a shooting target, they are literally training to shoot that ethnic group faster, and more accurately.

Sheriff Luna, I served for 7 years as a Neighborhood Watch Captain, and during that period I won the fight to raise our sales taxes to support public safety in Bellflower. I’ve hosted community parties that gathered deputies and residents frequently in my own front yard just to visit, and chat. I’ve seen the stoniest faced deputy covered in pink icing because somehow every child there knew that despite his stern expression, he was the one to climb all over. His career, and peace could be taken because of this training.

In 2013 when I first moved to Bellflower, we had a string of burglaries in the community. I came home one day to find the street partly blocked off, and what appeared to be officers wrapping up. I walked over and said, “Hi guys, I’m the Neighborhood Watch Captain. What happened?” and the two young deputies turned around with ear-to-ear grins and one said…” WE CAUGHT THEM!” with the glee of a child. His career, and peace could be taken because of this training.

I have at least a dozen more stories of the good times I had building a bridge between our protectors and the community.

Then when Alex Villanueva took office, everything changed for the worse, but I believe in the need for law enforcement more than ever. We can rebuild public trust by earning it. Humanity craves integrity in their leaders. Although these are difficult steps, and Lord knows it will open can after can of worms stopping the use of ethnic shooting targets is clearly the right thing to do.

The following pages show some of the work done on this issue and are what I am distributing to the public.

Please contact me to meet regarding this matter.

Respectfully,

C.J. Nord, C.P.M., CSCP