Interim Chief to Be ‘Steward’ : Succession: An LAPD career official replaces Gates and promises not to be ‘revolutionary.’

Assistant Police Chief David Dotson awoke in the middle of the night wondering if he would be asked on Thursday to assume command of the second largest police force in the nation.

Shortly before noon, he was summoned to the city Police Commission’s executive office. When he emerged a few minutes later, the 57-year-old career police officer, who has headed sensitive and potentially explosive divisions ranging from narcotics to anti-terrorism, was fighting back tears.

The commissioners told him they had decided to put Police Chief Daryl F. Gates on paid leave for 60 days, then asked if he would be interim manager of the Los Angeles Police Department.

“When he came out I put my hand out and said, ‘Chief, if there is anything you need, you got it,” said Lt. Stella Mattson, commanding officer of the commission’s investigation division. “He forced a smile and said, ‘Thanks.’ ”

Later Dotson, a 33-year LAPD veteran, was more composed as he met with reporters, saying, “I have some feelings of discomfort, but I am also pleased with the challenge.”

Perhaps his biggest challenge will be boosting morale of the department’s 8,300 employees, which has plummeted since the Rodney G. King beating March 3.

“I think the events of the past four weeks have, no question, had an adverse effect on the morale of the employees of this department,” Dotson said. “But I intend, to the best of my abilities . . . to get them to enhance their morale by the accomplishment of their tasks.”

He described his role as that of a “steward. I am a caretaker, an interim manager, and I understand that role very clearly. I will not be revolutionary in what I do.”

In selecting Dotson, the commission bypassed the only other assistant chief on the force, Robert L. Vernon. A third assistant chief, Jesse Brewer, retired a month ago.

Dotson declined to speculate on why he was chosen by the commissioners. “They said it was a personnel matter and didn’t want to respond,” Dotson said. However, the fact that the city has agreed to pay $450,000 to settle a lawsuit involving Vernon may have figured in the decision.

Michael Zinzun, a former Black Panther Party official, said that Vernon used a police computer to gather information to damage his 1989 campaign for the Pasadena Board of Directors. Vernon had said he only gained access to a computerized file of media reports.

Dotson, a Newhall resident, joined the force in May, 1958, and rose steadily through the ranks. He was promoted to sergeant in 1964 and to captain in 1972. He later became deputy chief in charge of narcotics and vice operations. Ten days ago, he was named director of the department of administrative services, which oversees automated systems and finances.

“He chooses his words very carefully, and he is very soft-spoken,” said Lt. Morrison. “But don’t be fooled by still waters. When Dotson wants something, it gets done.”