Arrests Drop 16% Since Beating of Black Motorist : Statistics: Valley officers say the Rodney G. King incident has left a malaise. A deputy chief calls the figures ‘very flimsy data on which to make assumptions.’

Arrests by police officers have dropped 16% in the San Fernando Valley since the videotaped beating of a black motorist by officers in Lake View Terrace plunged the Los Angeles Police Department into a crisis of public confidence.

The statistics, tabulated by police in an effort to determine how the public uproar over the incident has affected officers’ performance, include a 15% decrease in arrests in the Foothill Division, the patrol area where the March 3 beating occurred.

But police officials stopped short of directly equating the decline in arrests, compared with the same two-week period last year, with a drop in morale or with officers taking less initiative. Police said factors such as the recent rainy weather restricting criminal activity could also have contributed to the decline.

“We’ve had bad weather. It’s colder than last year,” said Deputy Chief Mark A. Kroeker, the Valley’s top police official. “This is very flimsy data on which to make assumptions.”

Kroeker said the statistics were gathered because he is concerned that the incident, which has resulted in criminal charges against four officers, could affect officers who were not involved but now face the public furor directed at the department as a whole.

“I am concerned because I am wondering if the officers are feeling unsupported,” Kroeker said. “If the officers are pulling back, then that has an impact on the city’s safety.”

The statistics are based on all misdemeanor and felony arrests made in the department’s Valley jurisdiction during the first two weeks of March. Because statistics are gathered on a weekly basis, the statistics for this year include three days prior to the beginning of the furor over the videotaped beating of Rodney G. King, 25, at a Lake View Terrace intersection.

The statistics show a total of 2,385 arrests during the first two weeks of March this year, down from 2,842 during the same period last year.

A breakdown of statistics by division shows wide differences in the decreases:

* Arrests in the Foothill Division dropped 15%, from 518 to 441.

* Arrests in the Devonshire Division dropped 30%, from 528 to 369.

* Arrests in the Van Nuys Division dropped 4%, from 702 to 673.

* Arrests in the North Hollywood Division dropped 12%, from 539 to 474.

* Arrests in the West Valley Division dropped 23%, from 555 to 428.

Citing factors unrelated to the King incident, Kroeker said it was too difficult to draw any conclusions from the statistics about the effect of the beating incident.

Kroeker said he has no way to gauge whether the decline in arrests is unusual, because the department has no studies that show seasonal or weather-related influences on arrests, or that focus on such a short time period.

He said he also plans to study statistics on traffic citations and to check patrol logs to determine how officers are responding to the controversy.

He said the department prides itself on “officer-initiated action,” in which officers actively follow tips, observations and suspicions to prevent crime and make arrests, rather than by reacting only to calls for service.

“I’d hate to see officer-initiated action go down,” he said. “That’s what makes us what we are.”

Officers privately and publicly have said the Rodney King incident has left a malaise in which some field officers may be changing--perhaps only temporarily--how they approach their jobs.

Officers stressed that there has been no change in response to calls for service, but that officers may be acting more timidly in situations where they have discretion in deciding how to act or whether to make arrests.

“Self-initiated arrests are down,” said a Valley police supervisor who asked not to be identified. “What else would you expect? This whole incident has been a demoralizing thing for the department. The constant badgering has a ripple effect.

“We had everyday coverage of the war. Now, it’s everyday coverage of the LAPD.”

Valley Traffic Sgt. Dennis Zine said: “With all that’s been going on, the police officer on the street would naturally be thinking about the repercussions of what he does. It can be bewildering. The officer starts to think, ‘What am I doing? Am I going to be criticized for what I do here?’ It’s a natural response.”

Also on Thursday, police confirmed that the watch commander on duty in the Foothill Division station during the incident has been transferred after less than a week in that position.

Police said Lt. Pat Conmay, a former homicide detective promoted to lieutenant about two weeks before the beating, was transferred shortly after the incident to the North Hollywood Division.

Assistant Chief Robert Vernon said Conmay’s transfer was not a disciplinary measure. “There is no blame on him,” Vernon said.

Vernon said Lt. Thomas R. Maeweather of the West Valley Division will replace Conmay. He said Maeweather was chosen for the position because he “has great credibility in the department and community.”

Police sources said the appointment of Maeweather, who is black, is expected to help quell the concerns of people in the Foothill Division over racism. “He will be very sensitive to that issue,” said an officer who asked not to be identified.

Conmay was not at the scene of the beating, but according to police reports reviewed by the grand jury investigating the incident, he backed the conclusions of junior officers who said only minimal force was used to subdue King.

Maeweather could not be reached for comment Thursday.

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