Why Recall Moves Are Divisive

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and Police Chief Daryl F. Gates have said that for the good of the city they will tone down the rhetoric stemming from the videotaped beating of Rodney King. That’s a good idea, which people pushing two very different recall moves--one against the mayor and the other against the police chief--also should heed.

The Police Protective League’s president, Lt. George Aliano, is encouraging the union, which represents 8,100 officers below the rank of captain, to put their clout--including a $1.5-million war chest and thousands of volunteers--behind a proposed effort to recall Bradley.

That move would further exacerbate the divisions that breed distrust and be counter-productive.

Worse, it would keep the city focused on personalities instead of the more crucial issue: how police officers use force. The importance of that issue was recalled again when Wesley Snipes, a black actor in the current hit movie “New Jack City,” Friday alleged racial harassment when stopped by the LAPD. Unfortunately, it’s not an unfamiliar allegation here.

The organizers of the proposed Bradley recall effort should cast their petitions aside. The police union should give the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, the Police Commission and others the opportunity to complete the investigations.

So should the organizers of a recall directed at Gates--an action based on a technicality in the City Charter. They must cease their efforts and give the commissions time to do their jobs.

The Independent Commission is expected to substantiate or disprove allegations of a pattern of police misconduct. The furor stemming from the police beating of King may eventually result in positive changes in the way this city is governed, and how the Police Department is run. That is the hope.

While the investigations proceed, the city must continue to function and the LAPD must continue to put public safety first, despite a loss of public confidence in some quarters. Turning up the political heat on either side might only further inflame an already combustible climate.