New Officers Graduate in a Somber Ceremony

For some of the 54 officers who graduated from the Los Angeles Police Academy on Friday, the clouds were not just outside the auditorium.

They were inside, too, as the recruits--the first to graduate since the ferocious police beating of an unarmed Altadena man--listened somberly to their beleaguered chief and contemplated their future in a department wrenched by controversy.

“We know what we’re going up against,” said Officer Randy Rangel, 22. “We know there’s going to be a lot of scrutiny going on.”

The graduating class, which included 13 blacks, 15 Latinos, two Asians and 17 women, joins the 8,300-member police force during one of its darkest moments.

The class entered the academy on the day last October, when an off-duty Hollywood police detective was gunned down by a man he had helped send to prison. It marked the end of its training three weeks after the March 3 beating of Rodney G. King, who was stopped on suspicion of speeding and was struck more than 50 times by baton-wielding officers while more than 20 other law enforcement officers watched.

None of the invited speakers, including Police Commission member Daniel Garcia, could avoid mentioning the furor unleashed by the videotaped images of the beating.

But Garcia, one of Mayor Tom Bradley’s recent appointees to the five-member civilian board, told the new officers not to let the outcry over the “ugly and unpleasant” incident interfere with their job performance.

“Do not,” Garcia said gently, “let these considerations either paralyze or provoke you.”

At the same time, he urged them to show “even more patience and courage than would normally be the case.” He said they need to remember that they are “not just authority figures” but “symbols” in the communities they will serve.

When Chief Daryl F. Gates took the stage, he was greeted by a standing ovation. And there was nothing tentative in his manner or in his sermon-like address, which departed from his usual commencement speeches in the ferocity with which he made certain points.

“I have bored my staff for 13 years talking about three things that I think are essential to you,” Gates, in uniform, began.

“The first is, you must have a reverence for the law. A reverence for the law. When the law says that you use only that force which is reasonable and necessary, that is the law! And you must have a reverence for those words.”

The second and third guiding rules, he told them, are contained in the department’s motto--to protect and to serve.

“Keep that in mind!” he exhorted. “To protect!”

Later, Officer Robert Freeman, 24, said he was impressed by Gates.

“The chief is a good chief. I listened to everything he said. I think he is a great leader. For a couple of mistakes (made by the officers involved in the beating), I think it is ridiculous to get rid of him.”

But his wife, Sharon, wiped away tears, explaining that she felt “nervous” about her husband putting on the LAPD badge now. “He may have a tougher time. But I support him--100%.”

Most of the graduates said they have no reservations about joining the department, despite the critics who say its reputation has been deeply tainted by the allegations of brutality.

“No one has questioned my decision,” said Officer Michael Valdes, 25. “I wanted all my life to be a police officer. This (department) is the finest organization there is. We just want to put (the incident) behind us and do the best job we can out there.”

In case the sentiments unleashed by the beating have planted any doubts in the new officers’ minds, Gates offered reassurance.

“People need you out there. They want you out there. They want you on their street. They are not afraid of you. They want you. They are afraid of the criminals out there. . . . They know you’ll protect them. They know you’ll protect them.”

And there was more.

“THINK!” the chief, nearly shouting, implored at the end of his speech. “A few thoughtless police officers failed to have a reverence for the law . . . failed to understand their job was to protect and to serve . . . failed the tradition and pride of the Los Angeles Police Department. Think what that has done to all of us. . . . Think. Remember. Remember--a reverence for the law. To protect and to serve.

“Remember the badge that you wear proudly on your chest.”

As much to himself as to the new officers, he intoned, “We’re going to get through this. We are going to get through this. We. We!

“Be proud!”