Pressure by Bradley, Others on Gates Grows

A political storm that has swirled around Police Chief Daryl F. Gates since the videotaped beating of a motorist gained intensity Tuesday after Mayor Tom Bradley’s declaration that the case has uncovered “a dangerous trend of racially motivated” misconduct by Los Angeles police officers.

From the state Capitol in Sacramento to Los Angeles City Hall, there were new calls for Gates to resign, more proposals for long-term police reforms and an odd quiet from politicians who long have been the fiery chief’s most vocal supporters.

Later, in a televised interview from Hawaii, the mayor seemed to be nudging Gates toward a decision to leave his post.

In an interview broadcast at 10 p.m. by KCAL Channel 9, Bradley said that the beating of Rodney G. King and its aftermath had caused the Police Department to suffer “grievous” injuries to its reputation that would take years to remedy.

The mayor said: “It would help . . . in the healing process if the chief would retire.”

It was his strongest statement on what the chief should do since the political maelstrom began after the March 3 incident.

As evidence of the political volatility of the case, White House reporters peppered President Bush’s spokesman with questions Tuesday about the King beating.

“I’m sure, like all Americans, (President Bush has) seen the tape, which has been played on television so many times,” Marlin Fitzwater said. “And I know that he shares everyone in America’s concern by those disturbing pictures.

“But we don’t have a position on the police chief of Los Angeles.”

In that last regard, Bush appeared to share ambivalence with Los Angeles City Council members who seem downright uncomfortable when asked what should be done about Gates.

“I’m in a very delicate position,” said Councilman Richard Alatorre. He said that commenting would jeopardize his wish to remain objective as chairman of a committee that oversees the Police Department.

The debate over Gates was invigorated by an extraordinary statement from Bradley late Monday upon arrival in Hawaii, to promote the city’s bid for the 1993 Super Bowl. Pasadena was selected late Tuesday.

The mayor was responding to the release of internal communications between officers--computer logs that indicated officers had joked about King’s beating and made racial remarks about blacks.

“The people of this city,” Bradley said, “have been slapped in the face by the attitude and bigotry of these officers. . . . It is no longer possible for any objective person to regard the King beating as an ‘aberration.’ ”

He continued: “. . . there appears to be a dangerous trend of racially motivated incidents running through at least some segments of our Police Department.”

The statement was unusual for Bradley, who in his 18-year tenure as mayor rarely has spoken out with passion on sensitive, race-related issues.

Other politicians spoke out Tuesday.

Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) called on the people of Los Angeles to “recapture their police force from the police . . . and turn it back over to the citizens.” He told a Sacramento news conference that the King episode “has not been dealt with as sternly and as firmly as it should have been dealt with. That starts with and ends with the police chief, period.”

Gov. Pete Wilson made his first statement on the incident Tuesday. While not calling on Gates to resign, he said: “The savage beating of Rodney King by four LAPD officers is a disgrace to their uniform and its proud traditions.”

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor adopted a resolution asking Gates to resign. Bill Robertson, head of the federation and one of Bradley’s closest political allies, said that Gates should “set aside his monumental ego and do a service to the community which he claims to love.”

Robertson said he was “disappointed” and “dismayed” that Bradley and the City Council had not yet demanded Gates’ resignation.

“I think there is a real groundswell within the community of people who feel precisely the same way,” Robertson said, “and we trust Chief Gates will hear this message and tender his resignation, for the good of this city.”

One longtime acquaintance of Bradley speculated that the mayor will call for Gates to resign if and when he believes “there is no way to put the community back together again and no way for the department to function.”

Bradley’s unusually strong condemnation of the racial remarks made by officers probably reflects deep felt anger based on the mayor’s own experiences, said this source, who asked not to be named.

While Bradley lobbied football officials, Councilwoman Joy Picus introduced a proposed Charter amendment that would eliminate civil service protection for the police chief and other department heads. In some ways, her measure goes further than a similar proposal offered by the mayor last week.

Picus was one of the few council members willing to operate in public view on the sensitive King affair.

Privately, some council members said they feel limited in the action they can take. Some said they believe Gates should resign--but declined to say so in public.

“Gates should go, but it’s a question of how it’s done,” said one council member, who spoke only on the promise of anonymity. “The more the issue becomes polarized, the tougher it’s going to be to convince him. Here’s a guy who’s been on the force 42 years. He wants to fight back to save his career.”

GOP political consultant Arnold Steinberg, who recently observed that Gates would make a strong mayoral candidate, was less optimistic Tuesday.

“The chief doesn’t want to leave under fire,” he said. “But (there is) no question his days are numbered.”

Steinberg remarked on the silence of Gates’ traditional allies on the City Council. To survive this crisis, he said, Gates would need his council supporters to step forward and defend his management of the department.

Among those he singled out was Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, a Republican who represents the Harbor District. Flores was ill Tuesday and unavailable for comment, her staff said. Spokeswoman Niki Tennant said Flores thus far has chosen not to take a position.

“I think she’s waiting to see the whole thing played out,” Tennant said. “She’s waiting to see the evidence as presented in the (police) commission. . . . She’s not taking a position on (Gates).”

A spokeswoman for Council President John Ferraro, often one of Gates’ strongest supporters, said the councilman has not publicly criticized or defended the chief. He “hasn’t said anything,” the spokeswoman emphasized.

Greg Nelson, a spokesman for Councilman Joel Wachs, said he and Wachs on Tuesday were still attempting to formulate a position on the King controversy.

Shortly after the King beating, Wachs supported a motion to have Gates address the council and speak about the incident. The motion failed. Nelson said Wachs thinks Gates “has a proud record of being a strong disciplinarian” and that it might be helpful to go over that record.

“The biggest problem is we know very few facts,” Nelson said. “And a lot of it has to do with magnitude of the issue. I don’t think anyone wants to act irresponsibly and shoot off their mouth.”

Several council members are mounting reelection campaigns, and their positions on the King beating and Gates’ tenure as chief could well arise as issues in the April elections.

Two incumbents up for reelection, Councilman Nate Holden and Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, have endured catcalls at recent public appearances from critics who think the candidates should be tougher on Gates.

Kerman Maddox, a public relations consultant running for the seat being vacated by Councilman Robert Farrell, said: “Anybody running for office, whether you’re an incumbent or a challenger, silence (on this issue) can only hurt you.”

Times staff writers James Gerstenzang in Washington, Richard C. Paddock in Sacramento and Leslie Berger in Los Angeles contributed to this story.