A Question of Accountability

Even the Los Angeles City Council, not known for its political backbone in raising questions about police matters, has had about enough. The council wants to make sure there is still credible civilian oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department. To dramatize its concern, the council has rightly asked the police commissioners to attend a public hearing next month. It will be a good time to remind the police commission, and all city commissions, that their responsibilities extend beyond the insular City Hall world.

The Police Department is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the law, to protect persons of the community and preserve peace. The commission has the City Charter authority to supervise, regulate and control Police Department activities, including the devising and enforcement of department rules and regulations.

Yet Times columnist Bill Boyarsky recently cited a cogent example of how easily lines can become blurred between those who enforce the law and those who oversee the enforcers. He said a recent Police Commission meeting seemed like a gathering of comfortable old friends as the panel celebrated Chief Daryl Gates’ 41st anniversary with the department. The chief was certainly entitled to congratulations. The question, though, is about the appropriate distance that must be maintained in order to ensure that the commission can play its proper role.

When asked about a current controversial case in which a police sergeant said that he worked on city time for other officers accused of wrongdoing, Commission President Robert Talcott replied that the commission would investigate. But he added that “there often is a readily available explanation for this kind of conduct and I suspect that will be the case in this situation . . .” Intentional or not, the comment made it sound as if the investigation was unlikely to dig deeply.

There are mumblings that some commissioners may not be able to attend the public hearing. All five commissioners are duty-bound to attend. Commission cooperation with the department sometimes can be important. But accountability to the public is most important.