3 Blacks Lose Bid for Police Union Board

Three black candidates failed Tuesday in their bids to become directors of the Police Protective League in what some cited as evidence that the Los Angeles Police Department is racially divided.

No black members have been elected to the police union’s Board of Directors since the league was formed in 1923. The defeat of the three candidates--all of whom are well-known figures within the department--comes at a time when the Police Department has been besieged by allegations of racism in the hiring, training and promotion of minorities.

One of the black candidates, Garland Hardeman, said the trio’s defeat is “a strong, strong indication” that the majority of white police officers harbor racial animosity against blacks.

“The rank-and-file made a decision very clearly by not voting for three qualified blacks,” he said. “They are saying they don’t want blacks representing them on the union board, that they don’t want to give us what we want in terms of more rights and more equity on the department.

“We advocate equality for everyone, and this shows the league doesn’t have our best interests at heart. Not once, in discipline or training or promotion, have we gotten any support from the league.”

However, Bill Violante, president of the league, sharply denied that the nine-member union board fails to represent all facets of the rank-and-file police membership. He noted, for instance, that the league has joined in crafting a “major position paper” with all minority groups within the LAPD that soon will be presented to Chief Daryl F. Gates.

The league represents more than 90% of the department’s 8,300 officers.

Violante called Tuesday’s outcome a vote of confidence for incumbents, noting that the three men seeking reelection--two white officers and a Latino--were successful. The one open seat on the ballot went to a white male officer.

“It tells us that people are happy with the job we’re doing at the league,” he said.

Two black candidates--Lt. Fred Nixon and Officer Musa Camara--declined to comment on whether they thought the union vote was an extension of racial feelings that surfaced in the wake of the police beating of motorist Rodney G. King.

Nixon said he would “rather not speculate” on whether he may have lost because of racial backlash, particularly since the department’s major black police officers’ association recently issued a report to Gates decrying problems for black policemen.

Likewise, Camara also refused to say whether he believes his loss was due to an anti-black vote. “Everyone knows what it means, but I’m not going to comment on it,” he said. “If I did, people would just say it was sour grapes.”

But some others at Parker Center, both black and white and speaking anonymously, said Tuesday’s election results shows a continued institutional bias in the Police Department.

“You’re dealing with a bunch of narrow-minded, conservative people,” said one black officer.

Added a white sergeant: “This is a victory for the good-old-boy network, and they are alive and well within the LAPD.”