L. A. Needs Good Cops of All Kinds

Over the years, relations between the Los Angeles Police Department and the gay community have ranged from poisonous to merely testy. The situation of the department’s gay officers has been a murkier issue. Now, a lawsuit filed by former LAPD sergeant Mitchell Grobeson has thrown a harsh but clarifying light on the matter.

By any objective measure, Grobeson was an outstanding police officer, one of the youngest ever promoted to sergeant. Then, purely by accident, his fellow officers discovered he also is a homosexual. What followed was an extended period of abusive harassment, including, the suit alleges, a refusal by other officers to come to Grobeson’s aid during life-threatening situations. Two years ago, the young sergeant left the force and filed his lawsuit.

Grobeson’s suit seeks his reinstatement, monetary damages and a commitment by the LAPD to recruit and promote gay and lesbian officers. The latter reform echoes one suggested seven years ago by the Police Commission, which went unheeded because Chief Daryl F. Gates opposed it.

A City Council committee chaired by Joy Picus and including Richard Alatorre and Zev Yaroslavsky has examined this case, and urged the city to settle with Grobeson. Gates opposes any agreement.

But resolution of this issue rests with the council. Its obligation is clear: The Los Angeles Police Deparment must include men and women from all sections of this community, and they must be able to render their services in an atmosphere free of prejudice.