Officers Sad, Angry, Relieved That Decision Finally Is Made

Officer Jon Greene, a 22-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, had an unwelcome assignment Monday afternoon: While Police Chief Daryl F. Gates delivered an emotional, six-minute message announcing his retirement, Greene stood behind the camera in a sound studio on the eighth floor of Parker Center.

As he tended to technical necessities, there was little time for Greene to think about the chief’s words. Afterward, as he delivered the first 15 copies to Assistant Chief Robert Vernon’s office for distribution, Greene could barely contain his anger.

“I don’t think the chief should be railroaded out of his job,” he said to a reporter.

Thus, the tape that Greene titled “Chief Gates’ Message, 7/22/91” began filtering out to the rank-and-file. As word of it spread through Parker Center and the LAPD’s outlying bureaus, the news was greeted with a mixture of sadness, anger and a sense of relief that at least a decision finally had been made.

At detective headquarters, Lt. Ron Brown and Detective Doug Haskin were chatting about the decision when a third officer, Steve Coker, looked up from a pile of paperwork. “Is he leaving?” Coker asked.

“He’s announced it,” Brown answered.

Coker went back to his paperwork. “Doesn’t surprise me,” he said.

Added Haskin: “I think the handwriting has been on the wall for some time now.”

In many ways, their conversation was reminiscent of countless others during the tumultuous months since the March 3 beating of Rodney G. King. Hardly a week has gone by without some new twist that has left the 8,300 officers wondering what would become of the LAPD, and of Gates.

Monday, of course, was different--more final. Gates, normally confident, seemed to hold back tears. His emotion had an obvious effect on his troops.

“He choked up over what he said,” said Detective Jim Press. “Hey, the guy’s been there 43 years. . . . I think he handled it damn good. That’s a big chapter in his life.”

In Hollywood, 40 off-duty officers attending a study seminar joined 14 uniformed policemen at the 6:30 p.m. midshift roll call to watch the Gates videotape in attentive silence. Most of them apparently knew it was coming. Their expressions changed little as their chief announced that he would leave in April of next year.

“I think you’re seeing the destruction of the finest, most productive, hardest-working police department in the country,” said a grim Officer Robert Kolesar afterward. “I think it’s sad.”

Back at Parker Center, somber detectives and commanders filed in and out of Gates’ sixth-floor office all afternoon, past a gantlet of reporters and television cameramen. The blue ribbon on the door of Gates’ office--a symbol of the keep-Gates campaign--looked black from a distance, as if in mourning.

Gates’ attorney, Jay Grodin, spent several hours holed up with the chief. Grodin, who represented Gates during his tortuous battle with the Police Commission when that panel placed the chief on involuntary leave, said he had come to lend support at a trying time.

“Any time you make a career decision like this, it’s difficult,” Grodin told the throng after leaving Gates’ office. “A lot of things go through your mind. . . . But he made his decision.”

Times staff writers Eric Malnic and Tracy Wilkinson contributed to this story.