Authority of Inspector General

Some confusion has resulted from your article, “Authority of LAPD Watchdog Is Cut Back” (Oct. 24). This article discussed a recent memo from Police Commission President Edith Perez regarding the inspector general, and stated that experts felt that the memo represented a sharp reduction of the inspector general’s authority.

When a complaint of misconduct is taken by LAPD, a copy of the complaint form is immediately forwarded to the office of the inspector general. This allows the inspector general to develop a parallel tracking system to monitor the investigation. At any point, the inspector general may request the status of the case and/or a briefing as to the progress of the investigation. Upon final completion of the investigation, the inspector general has, and always has had, total access to all information regarding the investigation.

The public should know the value of reviewing an adjudicated investigation over an incomplete investigation. Investigations, until they are concluded, are simply raw data from which no conclusion can be drawn. Once the investigation is completed, the adjudication process starts. These recommended adjudications are not finalized until the chief of police or his designee accepts the recommendations, i.e., penalty and other personnel and training issues. This is the stage called “adjudicated,” which finally includes every aspect of the case such as investigation, statements, penalty, rationale, addenda and employee responses.

Chief Bernard Parks is strongly supportive of the position of the inspector general. Through his chief of staff, those of us in command of the internal affairs group have been totally cooperative and professional in our efforts to provide the inspector general with everything necessary with which to carry out her charter responsibilities. The position of the inspector general strengthens an already strong civilian oversight body with additional staffing to ensure the proper handling of complaints. Since this confusion surfaced, the Police Commission has clarified the intent of the memo. The responsibilities and duties of the office of the inspector general are the same as they have been since the position was created.

JAMES S. McMURRAY

Commanding Officer, LAPD

Internal Affairs Group