Commission to Appeal Ruling on Gates’ Status

The Los Angeles Police Commission, in a swift attempt to reassert its control over the Police Department, voted Tuesday to appeal a judge’s ruling that effectively overturned its decision to put Police Chief Daryl F. Gates on a 60-day leave.

The emergency 3-0 vote, taken one day after Superior Court Judge Ronald M. Sohigian issued his decision in the case, raises the stakes in a bitter turf battle between the City Council and the civilian Police Commission over who has ultimate control of the Police Department.

“The commissioners believe that this ruling, if allowed to stand, will significantly alter the operation of city government in Los Angeles,” acting commission President Melanie Lomax said in a prepared statement. “The commission believes that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to discharge its official responsibilities under the judge’s interpretation of the (City) Charter.”

Lomax would not comment further. Commissioner Stanley Sheinbaum, in an interview before the vote, said he feared that the commission would be stripped of its most fundamental powers if the ruling stands.

“We’re going to be left with things like parade permits, massage parlor permits, relatively inconsequential and non-policy matters, if this holds,” Sheinbaum said.

The commission’s vote came as it forged ahead with plans to conduct an investigation of the Police Department. The panel has asked Los Angeles attorney Laurie Zelon--who more than a decade ago advised its predecessors in the wake of the controversial Eulia Love case--to act as a consultant and chief investigator.

Meanwhile, Mayor Tom Bradley, who has supported the Police Commission and called for Gates to resign in the wake of the police beating of Rodney G. King, said through a spokesman that he supported the commission’s decision to appeal Sohigian’s ruling.

Although Bradley could not be reached after the commission’s vote, he told a news conference earlier that an appeal would be necessary to establish “who is really in control” of the Police Department.

“Are we going to have civilian control over a semi-military organization such as the Police Department?” Bradley said. “The charter has said that since 1925, and I believe in it, the commission believes in it, and we now have to establish that by an appellate court.”

Deputy Mayor Mark Fabiani said: “On the merits of this case, the mayor is confident the court of appeals will reverse Judge Sohigian’s decision.”

Gates criticized the commission’s vote to appeal. “I think the people should be disappointed,” the chief said. “I think the people need to believe that we are back on track and doing the job.”

The battle involving Gates, the City Council and the Police Commission began April 4, when the commission voted to place Gates on an involuntary 60-day paid leave pending the outcome of its investigation into the King beating. Gates immediately threatened to sue and the council--deciding to settle the lawsuit before it was filed--voted to reinstate the chief in exchange for his dropping any claim for monetary damages.

The matter was played out in a series of court hearings before Sohigian in which the Police Commission, along with a taxpayers group led by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, attempted to block the settlement. A spokesman for the SCLC said Tuesday that it also plans to appeal.

In his 49-page opinion issued Monday, Sohigian ruled that the commission is not a separate entity under the City Charter, and therefore had no standing to block the agreement between Gates and the council. The judge also said that the charter clearly gives the council power to settle lawsuits, that the commission’s power is subordinate to the council, that the city attorney did not have a conflict of interest when it advised the council and the commission, and that the commission has no right to hire its own attorney.

Nonetheless, commission members voted Tuesday to have Hillel Chodos, the lawyer who represented them during the hearings before Sohigian, represent them on appeal. They did so over the objections of Assistant City Atty. Byron R. Boeckman, who said the commission does not have the authority to hire Chodos.

“We understand the position of the city attorney,” Lomax told Boeckman, “and I would advise you that the commission believes that . . . this appeal is necessary and in the public interest.”

Chodos said he expects to file the appeal within a week and that it will raise the same issues that came before Sohigian. Likening the legal contest to a baseball game, Chodos said: “The team is all going to the Court of Appeal to replay the same game.”

Asked how he can represent the commission now that a judge said it had no right to its own lawyer, Chodos said: “Judge Sohigian thinks I’m not the rightful representative and if his decision were final I couldn’t (represent the commission). But it isn’t final.”

The attorney then added: “Just think of me as a beagle scratching at the window trying to get inside.”

Because the City Council has not authorized the commission to hire its own lawyer, the commission has no money to pay Chodos. He said so far he has not been paid. Asked why he continued to handle the case, he said: “Why not? Isn’t it a matter of public importance?”

While the court battle has dragged on, the commission’s probe of the Police Department has taken a back seat. Tuesday, the panel sought to change that, announcing that it would begin investigating the department and have a report by the end of next month.

The commission’s probe will focus on six major issues raised by the King beating, including the use of excessive force, the department’s system for handling civilian complaints, lawsuits filed against the Police Department, its supervision and command structure, 16 policy matters, and the management of the Foothill Division, where the beating took place.

Although the commission initially intended to conduct a much broader study, Lomax said the panel does not want to duplicate the work of the Christopher Commission, an independent body appointed by Bradley to investigate the Police Department.

To coordinate the probe, the commission appointed attorney Zelon, citing her experience investigating the 1979 Eulia Love case. That incident, which sparked a public uproar, involved two Los Angeles police officers who shot Love to death after she waved a paring knife at them. Zelon said she will be working without pay, and hopes to find other attorneys to assist her.

In a related development Tuesday, Council President John Ferraro criticized the mayor for making what he called “lopsided appointments” to the Police Commission. Ferraro said Bradley has not sought to balance the commission racially, ethnically, geographically or philosophically.

The five-member commission now has two black members and one Anglo, with two seats vacant. Last month, Bradley nominated an Asian-American to one of the vacant seats. He has not named a replacement for Dan Garcia, a Latino who resigned last week.

“I just don’t think the makeup of the Police Commission reflects the city of Los Angeles,” Ferraro said. “I know there were times when it was lopsided the other way, with maybe five Anglos on the commission, but . . . now the mayor has gone too far the other way.”

Ferraro also said the commission has no members who live in the San Fernando Valley, and no members who he would describe as politically moderate or conservative.

Bradley told reporters that he intends to “ignore” Ferraro’s assertions.

“The commissions of the city of Los Angeles are now the most diverse in the history of this city so I reject any suggestion of that kind,” Bradley said.

Times staff writer Dean E. Murphy contributed to this story.