Mayor, Others Discuss LAPD After Parks

Even as Police Chief Bernard C. Parks mounts a last-ditch effort to hold onto his job--with an appearance today before the Los Angeles City Council--Mayor James K. Hahn and some members of the council are looking past that appearance and sketching out what kind of replacement they hope to hire.

Hahn, who has called Parks stubborn and inflexible, says he thinks the next chief should hold less political sway than the men who historically have run the Los Angeles Police Department.

“We have got to the point in Los Angeles where we’ve basically created this colossal figure of the chief of police who towers over appointed civilian oversight, who towers over political figures,” Hahn said in a radio interview last week.

The next chief, Hahn added in another interview, will be one “who understands that civilians run the Police Department.”

If Parks fails in his bid with the City Council, Hahn would select the next chief from recommendations made to him by the Police Commission. The mayor’s nominee would be subject to confirmation by the council.

Council members were making arrangements Monday for what many expect to be a contentious session. The City Council is expected to allow Parks to make a presentation at 10 a.m. on his accomplishments as police chief during the last 4 1/2 years. The lawmakers will then decide Wednesday whether to overturn the Police Commission’s decision to deny Parks a second five-year term.

Under the city charter, the City Council has until Friday to overturn the Police Commission. But so far, only three of the 15 council members have expressed interest in getting involved in the debate. That number has held constant since last week’s Police Commission vote not to reappoint Parks.

Show of Support

for Chief Expected

Nevertheless, city officials expect hundreds of people to show up at City Hall to voice their support for Parks. Members of the public will not be allowed to address the lawmakers until after Parks finishes his presentation, officials said.

Parks’ supporters--City Council members Nate Holden, Mark Ridley-Thomas and Jan Perry--say they are hopeful that their colleagues will be open-minded.

“I think they will be fair,” Holden said. “We are just trying to follow through with the administrative procedure so no one can say later on that he was denied his due process.”

Last week, Parks retained two attorneys to defend his record against the criticisms of some police commissioners that he had not been honest with them during his evaluation.

“I believe the chief’s interest in coming to the council is rooted in his deep sense that he has been treated very, very poorly,” Ridley-Thomas said. “His desire to make a statement before the council is an expression of his hope that there is enough goodwill to give him a fair shake.”

But if the council declines to overturn the commission, the matter returns to the police panel, which can begin laying out the timetable of a search process for Parks’ replacement as early as next week. The commission has the duty of narrowing a list of candidates to three and forwarding those names to the mayor.

Hahn, who had no formal role in the reappointment evaluation of Parks, said he plans to be an active participant in that process.

“I want to make sure when they give me that list of three candidates that we’ve done the best job in searching to find the best possible person, so I will be actively involved to make sure that the outreach is there, that we’re leaving no stone unturned,” he said in an interview.

The mayor said he does not have a short list at this point, and has encouraged the commission to look for candidates both inside the department and around the country. Police Commission President Rick J. Caruso has said he hopes a strong candidate can be found from within the ranks of the LAPD.

Other city leaders Monday urged a broad canvass for potential candidates. “It is critical to have someone who is committed to reforming the Police Department, which still has a long way to go,” City Councilman Eric Garcetti said. “We also need someone who is representative of the city. I hope we will have qualified applicants that include African Americans, Latinos, women, gays and lesbians.”

All the chiefs of the LAPD have been men, and all but the last two have been white.

Still, Hahn insists political pressure will not guide his decision.

“There’ll be a clamor, I’m sure, from a lot of different groups who are saying, ‘It’s our turn,’” he said. “But this decision shouldn’t be one based on political correctness or expediency. We ought to try to find the best person.”

Hahn said he wants the next chief to be “inspirational,” someone who is a good listener and a leader who can both delegate well and hold his subordinates accountable.

“The police chief of Los Angeles is a national figure, right off the bat,” Hahn said. “So you’re going to be a very important individual when you assume that post. But I think what’s happened in the past is that, I think, police chiefs have been far more politically influential I think than their job required.”