Gates Raps 2 Officials for Remarks on Killer Inquiry

Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates angrily accused City Councilman Robert Farrell and County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn on Friday of making “divisive, counterproductive and demoralizing” comments about the abilities of detectives assigned to the Southside Serial Killer Task Force.

The chief’s blast was in reaction to remarks made at a Thursday news conference organized by Hahn at which the supervisor said he had intended to encourage greater cooperation between the South-Central Los Angeles community and police in solving the serial killings of 18 women in the area since 1983.

The chief’s ire apparently focused on Farrell’s statement that he and the people of his South-Central district feel that the “best and brightest” detectives have not been used in the investigation.

In a written statement, Gates said he has become “increasingly disturbed by the continuing harassment of the detectives of both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles (County) Sheriff’s Department who are assigned to the Southside Serial Killer Task Force.”

“The comments made by some members of the public expressing alarm, while understandable, are not very useful,” he said. “Comments made by Councilman Robert Farrell and Supervisor Kenneth Hahn are divisive, counterproductive and demoralizing.

“The men and women . . . assigned to this investigation and who are working tirelessly deserve the support of the politicians, not this kind of verbal haranguing. To even suggest that they are not the best and the brightest is utterly without foundation and is the kind of pejorative that destroys morale when morale should be at its highest.”

Gates said he also was disturbed that anyone would believe that the “color, descent, occupation or sexual orientation” of the victims would affect the department’s “dedication and commitment” to the investigation of any murder.

“A human being is a human being and a murderer is a murderer and we do our very best in every case,” Gates said.

Farrell stuck by his criticism, but said it was intended as constructive. He said he was scheduled to meet with Assistant Police Chief Robert Vernon late Friday to discuss the investigation and make suggestions on how the department can better deal with the case and with “the perception problem” it has in the Southside community.

‘Listen to the Message’

“I will share with Chief Vernon the sense in South Los Angeles that law enforcement is not making its best effort,” Farrell said. “For God’s sake, listen to the message, don’t throw stones at the messenger. . . . Take the insights that might come from the (news conference) statement.”

He said the whole point of the Hahn news conference was to concentrate the resources of the community on getting the word out about the serial killer or killers.

“The challenge (to the Police Department) is to tell us it ain’t so (that the best detectives are not working on the slayings). The way you do it is not to say I am divisive.”

Most of the victims were killed in Farrell’s district. All but two were prostitutes, according to police.

Hahn, whose district also encompasses the area, said through a spokesman, Dan Wolf, that he was surprised by Gates’ statement.

Request to FBI

“The only thing I can think of (that Gates might have taken exception to) is that Mr. Hahn wrote to the FBI to ask for help, to take advantage of any expertise they might offer from the Atlanta child murders where the FBI was used,” Wolf said. “But we were guessing. He (the supervisor) has not made any statements criticizing the police.”

Police spokesman Lt. Dan Cooke said the chief included Hahn in the statement because the supervisor had expressed support for Margaret Prescod and the Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders. “And she has called the department sexist and racist,” Cooke said.