Bradley Picks Staunch Ally to Join Police Commission

Exerting his authority in a power struggle with Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, Mayor Tom Bradley on Monday appointed political ally Dan Garcia to the Police Commission, the five-member citizens panel that oversees the Los Angeles Police Department.

Garcia, a lawyer and lobbyist who once headed the city’s Planning Commission, is a staunch backer of Bradley and has long been one of his major fund-raisers. Last year, Garcia was co-host of a party at the mayoral mansion in Hancock Park to raise money for Bradley’s legal bills.

Garcia is expected to be a strong voice for Bradley on the commission, whose other members also were appointed by the mayor but have grown close to the department, in the view of some City Hall insiders.

“I’m looking forward to observing the fireworks,” said City Councilman Michael Woo. “The mayor is appointing someone with backbone to the Police Commission in the face of criticism of the commission for not having the courage to take on the Police Department.”

Cmdr. William Booth, the Police Department spokesman, said Monday that neither the chief nor the department has issued any statements on the appointment but that he expected that “welcoming comments” will be made today at the Police Commission’s regular meeting.

Last month, the commission balked at requests for an inquiry into the propriety of the police chief’s public statements that casual drug users should be shot. The commission has since reconsidered and plans to examine the matter of an investigation, possibly after Garcia is approved by the City Council as expected, officials said Monday.

Councilman Robert Farrell, who had pushed for the inquiry, on Monday called Garcia’s appointment “an excellent choice.” He called Garcia a “take-charge” person who will help to reassert the commission’s role as the “boss” of the department.

“I see Dan Garcia as being a stronger voice for the people,” Farrell said.

Garcia, 43, is to replace departing Commissioner Stephen Yslas, who has served for 10 years. Yslas, a corporate counsel for Northrop Corp., is resigning because of the press of his legal work, according to the mayor’s office.

The Police Commission, a five-member panel appointed by Bradley, has ultimate policy authority over the Police Department. Council members have the authority to approve or reject the mayor’s nominees and control the department budget.

In recent weeks, Bradley and Gates have exchanged rare public insults over the department’s handling of an investigation of police conduct in the so-called “39th and Dalton” drug raid. Gates accused Bradley of writing a “dumb letter” calling for an investigation of possible police improprieties and Bradley shot back that Gates has a history of making “dumb statements.”

“I view Dan Garcia as a person with strong views and I think he’ll express those views,” Bradley said Monday. Garcia shares his opinion that the Police Commission should be in charge of the department, Bradley added.

At a press conference with the mayor Monday, Garcia deflected questions about Gates, calling them premature. “I have no preconceived notions about anything,” Garcia said. “I come to this job with a fresh frame of mind.”

Pressed by reporters, Garcia added, “My sense is that there needs to be a strong commission playing a role in the oversight and policy-making functions. To the extent, if any, that that hasn’t been the case, I think the administration wants to make sure that it does occur.”

Garcia was asked whether it was appropriate for the police chief to state publicly that the mayor wrote a “dumb letter,” but Bradley interjected, “You tell them that the mayor can take care of himself.”

Garcia is a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olsen. In the mid-1970s, he briefly served as a hearing examiner for the Police Commission, but he is best known as a Bradley appointee to the Planning Commission, which has jurisdiction over virtually all land use matters in the city.

During his 12 years on the commission, Garcia spent 10 as president and had a reputation as a tough and forceful leader.

Garcia was known “as someone who rode very hard on the Planning Department,” said Woo. “He always was a man who didn’t take any nonsense form neighborhood groups either. There were a number of homeowner groups that considered Dan Garcia bordering on abusive.”

Garcia has a “blunt and unsparing” manner, Woo said, adding, “I don’t expect Dan Garcia to be very gentle toward the Police Department.” Nor is Garcia likely to be sympathetic to unsubstantiated claims of police brutality brought by the public, he said.

Garcia resigned from the Planning Commission in 1987 because he thought he had suffered a heart attack, he said. Doctors later determined that the problem was a stress-related phenomenon that had caused no permanent damage, he said.

Bradley said Garcia agreed to take the Police Commission position after being approached by the mayor.

Last year, Garcia was among a close circle of Bradley’s friends who pledged to raise $300,000 to help the mayor cope with legal bills stemming from a variety of investigations of his personal finances.

Garcia raised $14,150 in pledges for a dinner at the mayoral residence in Hancock Park. “Most of the people I deal with are players and I know it’s part of the process,” Garcia said earlier this year regarding his fund-raising efforts.

Bradley said he has no misgivings about appointing a close political ally to a commission seat. “I never ask anybody what their political affiliation is, what their party is, what their loyalties are,” he said.

The mayor said Garcia will be expected to exercise “independent judgment” on the Police Commission.

Garcia said he does not know how much money he has raised for Bradley. “My support for him has been pretty steadfast over the years,” he said.