City Council to Put Off Police Commission Meeting on Gates

An unusual meeting between the Los Angeles City Council and the Police Commission will be put off indefinitely while the commission conducts an inquiry into recent statements by Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, officials said Wednesday.

The meeting, requested last week by the City Council, had been tentatively set for Nov. 6.

The meeting was scheduled at the urging of Councilman Robert Farrell, who said he was dissatisfied with the commission’s apparent lack of interest in Gates’ statement last month that casual drug users should be shot.

However, Farrell said Wednesday that because the commission has decided to look more closely at the matter, he will move to postpone the meeting.

City Council President John Ferraro, whose office was organizing the session, said Wednesday that no new date will be selected until Farrell renews his request.

The Police Commission, a five-member panel appointed by Mayor Tom Bradley, has ultimate policy authority over the Police Department. The City Council has the authority to approve or reject Bradley’s nominees.

Farrell said he is concerned whether the commission is exerting adequate authority over the Police Department in light of Gates’ statement.

“The issue is whether there is a single standard of justice for people who wear police uniforms,” Farrell said. The commission’s inaction, he said, was a signal to lower-ranking members of the department that their superiors are “immune” from disciplinary action.