Gates, Aides Testify in Secret on Use of Force : Beating: The chief declines to divulge specifics about Christopher Commission’s questions, but hints at a reform.

Police Chief Daryl F. Gates and two of his top assistants testified in secret before the Christopher Commission Friday, with the chief saying he was questioned on a wide range of subjects including “excessive use of force, training and the tenure of the chief of police.”

At the end of his session, Gates declined to divulge the specific questions he was asked or what he told the commissioners, saying he would “honor the commission’s wish for confidentiality.” But he hinted that the commissioners mentioned one possible reform that he is thinking of implementing immediately. He would not elaborate.

Assistant Chief Robert L. Vernon and Assistant Chief David D. Dotson testified for an hour each. Vernon has come under fire over whether his fundamentalist Christian beliefs have affected department decisions.

Emerging from his session, Vernon told reporters that he would resign if he thought his religious beliefs conflicted with “city policy.”

The Police Commission has ordered Gates to investigate the allegation that Vernon pressured officers to attend his church--Grace Community Church in Sun Valley--and discouraged the hiring and promotion of women and homosexuals. He has called the allegations unfair and part of a “witch hunt.”

“I am not afraid of being investigated,” Vernon said. “I have nothing to hide.”

Asked by reporters if he ever ordered officers to attend his church, he responded, “Absolutely not.”

Gates also has been at the center of a storm of controversy in the aftermath of the March 3 beating of Altadena motorist Rodney G. King.

At public hearings held by the Christopher Commission last month, various critics have accused Gates of creating a climate that nourished racism and brutality in the LAPD.

Mayor Tom Bradley and City Councilman Michael Woo have been among those who have called for Gates to resign--but the chief has steadfastly refused.

Two weeks ago, Gates said in a radio interview that he would resign if the Christopher Commission finds that he fostered an environment that led to the King beating. Gates said Friday that he was only responding to a question from KABC radio host Michael Jackson and did not intend to imply that he thought the commission would decide his fate.

Commission Chairman Warren Christopher has said on several occasions that the panel, formally known as the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, has no such intent.

Instead, Christopher has said the commissioners will look at, among other things, the entire LAPD management and may come up with recommendations about how long a chief, whoever it is, should remain on the job and under what conditions he stays.

“I was asked a question about whether I would resign if it was found I created a climate for the King beating and I responded,” Gates said, referring to his comments to Jackson.

Gates, Vernon and Dotson are the last witnesses scheduled to testify before the 10-member commission, which was formed in the wake of the King beating by Bradley and Gates to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the LAPD focusing on excessive use of force. It is scheduled to release a written report July 1 that will contain recommendations designed to minimize police brutality.

Gates, in his comments to reporters Friday, said he could not see how the commission will be able to have the report ready in two weeks.

“They’ve got a lot of deliberating to do and I think it’s going to be very difficult for them to reach that deadline,” he said. “It’s clear they have not yet reached any conclusions.”

Last week, the commissioners began preliminary discussions aimed at putting the report together.

Barbara J. Kelley, a commission staff member, said this week that the staff of nearly 50 lawyers had begun gearing up for some “all-night sessions.”

Gates said he hoped the commissioners would “build on the strengths of the department, and where they find weaknesses, we hope they will find the wisdom” to suggest constructive improvements.