“Hi, Mr. Pisarra, this is (some dude) from the Los Angeles Police Canine Association and we’re…”
Yep got that phone call from a fundraiser yesterday. Over the last 20 years of being a lawyer I’ve received that call, well, 20 times. They want to sell me a full-page ad in a fundraiser brochure that’ll have exposure across the county. I’ve done them in the past for various organizations. Usually, I fund charities that are close to my heart and/or the audience is going to be close to my demographic for potential clients.
The caller reached me at just the right time for me to do a write-up on their fundraising for the program and I said I’d be happy to write about it and share their information if he sent me a promo kit.
Honestly, I was skeptical. I mean these days the police are always telling us to not trust the phone callers. The tech industry is pushing us to go to two-factor sign-ins for everything and well, if you’re going to pull on the heartstrings and scam people, besides sick kids, police dogs have to be right up there on the “I LOVE them” Scale.
Honestly I have a conflicted relationship with the police. On the one hand, I respect the work they do in a job that sucks. They’re exposed daily to the worst of humanity, and reviled for it. It’s a job I certainly don’t want, and I’m a divorce lawyer! This brings me to the reason why I’m frustrated by their role, particularly in how they almost NEVER enforce the child custody court orders, and so often refuse to believe that a man could be a victim of domestic violence, even when there is physical damage that is done to a male victim.
While I support the police, I wish they would be more equitable in when and how they choose to enforce the law. Because that imbalance is what causes a great deal of emotional distress to the fathers, while empowering bad actors, and harming children who are entitled to parenting time, as the court has ordered.
Anyways, I received the email from the Los Angeles County Police Canine Association for their event along with an ad schedule for their program. The email was a basic gmail account so that sent up a red flag for me that this could be a scam. Having your organization’s own email account is a huge indicator to me that they are legitimate, and using a free service like Gmail just makes me nervous that something hinky is happening.
The email came with lots of corporate identifiers and tax identifiers so I started to do some sleuthing. First to the California Secretary of State to see if they were properly set up, they were. Then came the IRS to make sure they have their non-profit status, and they do.
So to the best of my abilities, it looks like the Los Angeles County Police Canine Association is legit and good to be donated to. Which is great news. I’m glad that my worries were for nothing.
The LACPCA is hosting an event in which the Santa Monica Police Department will be participating with their canine teams and they sent me the following information about it: The Santa Monica Police Department K9 handlers will be participating in the 21st Annual Police K-9 Demonstration and Educational Public Safety Fair on Saturday, July 16, 2022, at Redondo Union High School - Sea Hawk Bowl. This is the largest Police K-9 and SWAT demonstration in Los Angeles County. Our members are dedicated to serving and protecting the public and have a common goal of making our community a better, safer place to live and work. We hope that you will join us in our efforts.
The Annual Police K-9 Demonstration and Educational Public Safety Fair is held to give you, the public, the opportunity to witness an exciting, unique display of police officers and their K-9 partners exhibiting their expertise in various crime-fighting scenarios rarely seen by the general public. We hope that you will take this opportunity to meet with local police officers while supporting a worthwhile cause. The Educational Public Safety Fair, with law enforcement, pet-related booths and exhibits, will start at 1 p.m. with the demonstration beginning at 3 p.m.
If you’re interested in supporting this organization by taking out ads in the program feel free to reach out to them at www.LACPCA.org
David Pisarra is a Los Angeles Divorce and Child Custody Lawyer specializing in Father’s and Men’s Rights with the Santa Monica firm of Pisarra & Grist. He welcomes your questions and comments. He can be reached at dpisarra@pisarra.com or 310/664-9969. You can follow him on Twitter @davidpisarra
