West Hollywood : Arrests to Be Reviewed

City Manager Paul Brotzman, Mayor Stephen Schulte and Capt. James Cook, commander of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s West Hollywood station, will begin reviewing all complaints about arrests in West Hollywood.

Brotzman said the three officials will meet on an “as-needed basis” to monitor individual complaints. Brotzman said Cook also will begin briefing the City Council every month on arrest complaints and their resolution.

Because state law allows police departments to keep results of arrest complaint investigations confidential, the names of deputies involved will not be divulged in the reports. “These changes will give us an opportunity to get information on the case without disclosing the names of the officers involved,” Brotzman said.

In the past, sheriff’s officials have completed their investigations and then notified Brotzman. The city manager said the new system will allow council members, who have expressed some interest in reviewing complaints about police conduct, to keep closer tabs on such incidents without violating police confidentiality.

In the past year, some residents, particularly several gay activists, complained that after the city hired more sheriff’s deputies, harassment began increasing.

Cook, acknowledging that as many as six complaints a month were being registered six months ago, said incidents have been reduced to two or less per month.