Statewide Police Review Proposed : Hearings: Sen. Torres tells gay and feminist activists that he is considering drafting a bill creating a civilian board to investigate allegations of misconduct.

State Sen. Art Torres, after hearing allegations of police insensitivity and brutality Wednesday from feminist, gay and lesbian activists, said he is considering drafting legislation to form a statewide civilian review board to investigate police misconduct.

Torres (D-Los Angeles) made the statement during a sometimes rowdy hearing in West Hollywood before a legislative panel on police conduct, of which he is chairman.

“A civilian board . . . would be such that anyone who has peace officer status would be subject to the jurisdiction of that panel,” Torres said. “I think that is the direction that we are moving in on a statewide basis. Whether the funds are there to do that still needs to be looked at.”

Torres said the civilian review board would be formed under an “omnibus” police conduct bill that he hopes to draft by January. The legislation may also require a uniform code of conduct for all law enforcement officers in the state, he said.

But Capt. Clarence Chapman of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said after the hearing that Torres had only sought the opinions of a vocal minority and needed to hear from law enforcement officials and other members of the community before drafting legislation.

The hearing in West Hollywood was the third in Los Angeles County since the panel was formed after the March 3 videotaped police beating of motorist Rodney G. King. The previous hearings focused on allegations of police brutality against blacks and Latinos and the need for more high-ranking minorities in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles Police Department.

Many of the speakers during the nearly four-hour hearing asked that law enforcement agencies be required to recruit more women and gays. Officers at the Sheriff’s Department’s West Hollywood station were the target of harsh criticism by gay and lesbian speakers who accused deputies of tolerating or promoting gay bashing.

“The problem of hate crimes against lesbians and gays continues to get more violent and more widespread,” said civil rights lawyer Thomas J. Coleman Jr.

West Hollywood Mayor Paul Koretz said deputies have become somewhat more sensitive about hate crimes against gays. But he said: “They still aren’t enlightened in terms of recruitment.”

Tad Bright, co-chair of a citizens group fighting crime in the east end of West Hollywood, was greeted with hisses when he spoke favorably of the sheriff’s deputies. “We are getting along with the Sheriff’s Department,” Bright said.

The frequent target of Tuesday’s criticism, Sheriff Sherman Block, has not shown up for any of the hearings although he has been invited. Torres said he will subpoena Block for future hearings.

A spokesman for Block said the sheriff did not attend because the top officer in the West Hollywood station, Chapman, was sent to represent the department.

In an interview after the hearing, Chapman said he was disappointed that Torres did not call upon him to respond to the criticism that was raised. “Apparently with Sen. Torres, it wasn’t necessary,” he said.

Chapman disputed allegations that his deputies have been tolerant of gay bashing, saying that deputies have made arrests in six of the eight gay-bashing incidents in the city in the last six months.

Several feminists asked for greater representation of women in law enforcement.

“Women peace officers are not as authoritarian, use force less often, possess better communication skills, and are better at defusing potentially violent confrontations than their male counterparts,” said Katherine Spillar, national coordinator for the Fund for the Feminist Majority.