Gates Takes Reins of Community Policing : LAPD: Chief bypasses command structure to get program started. Critics fear obstruction but others praise hands-on approach.

Taking political leaders and his own staff by surprise, Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates has announced that he will bypass the department’s command structure and take direct control of a pilot project in community-based policing, officials said Friday.

Gates was not available for comment, but a spokesman said the chief wants to take a hands-on approach to the program recommended by the Christopher Commission in the wake of the Rodney G. King beating.

Critics of Gates expressed concern that the chief may be trying to undercut the program. The chief has consistently maintained that his department has already implemented community-based programs and that new measures are unnecessary.

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas called the decision to supersede the command structure “unprecedented.”

“He’s once again managed to mess up what was a perfectly good idea,” said Ridley-Thomas, a member of the five-member Ad Hoc Committee on the Christopher Commission report. “I deeply resent the chief behaving as an obstructionist. It’s simply irresponsible.”

The pilot program in community-based policing was adopted by the City Council last month. Gates announced his plan to implement the program Thursday during two meetings with command staff. Police spokesman Cmdr. Robert Gil said the chief will disclose details when he provides a progress report on the pilot programs to the City Council committee next week.

Gates will begin overseeing the program Jan. 26, but is expected to eventually surrender control of the pilot programs to bureau commanders.

“He wants to ensure that the program gets off to a good start . . . so the program is implemented in the manner that he expects it should be,” said Lt. John Dunkin, a police spokesman.

Councilman Marvin Braude, chairman of the ad hoc committee, said he was not concerned by the chief’s decision to take greater control of the program.

“The chief came before the City Council and testified to be fully supportive of the program requested by the council,” Braude said. “I have no reason to think otherwise.”

Gates also announced the five divisions that will participate in the project--Northeast, Southeast, Harbor, Pacific and Foothill, the site of the King beating.

Ridley-Thomas said he was angered by the choices because none of the divisions appear to be represented by a black council member. “I take serious exception to this sort of omission,” Ridley-Thomas said.

Police officials defended the chief’s decision to temporarily rearrange the command structure. Capt. Keith Bushey, commander of the Northeast Division, said a temporary reorganization is appropriate for an experimental program.

“He wants to create an environment where all five divisions will be able to operate in a unique manner,” Bushey said. “The chief just wants to put aside the bureaucracy temporarily and provide greater creativity.”

But one high-ranking police official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was critical of the plan. The official questioned the logistics of running the program from Parker Center, saying that it will be difficult for Gates to supervise a program operating in five far-flung divisions.

The official added that it is highly unusual to bypass the department’s four bureaus, which are designed to provide local supervision.

Deputy Chief Mark Kroeker, the San Fernando Valley’s top police official and a candidate for chief, acknowledged that he was surprised by the chief’s announcement but said he could understand Gates’ desire to standardize the project in all five divisions.

Kroeker, who implemented community-based policing in the Valley’s five patrol areas six months before the City Council adopted its pilot program, said he did not anticipate radical changes in Foothill’s community policing projects.

Six officers in Foothill are already assigned to working full time with civilians on solving neighborhood crime and other problems--the kind of collaboration extolled by the Christopher Commission and outlined by the City Council.

Kroeker said Gates has instructed him to return six to 10 Foothill officers from specialized units to the division to boost its staff.

One Foothill officer who has been working on the program, Glen Younger, said he welcomed the chief’s direct involvement in the program.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Younger said. “Our program is really working well and whether it goes citywide will be based on how well it’s working out here.”

Cmdr. Rick Dinse, who supervised the department’s internal investigation of the King beating, will assist Gates in managing the community-based policing project, Gates told his command staff.

The ad hoc committee originally called for four divisions to participate in the community-based policing program. Police officials said a fifth was added--Harbor--because of its experience in such programs.

Pilot Programs Five LAPD divisions, shaded below, have been chosen to participate in pilot community-based project under Chief Daryl F. Gates. The Participants: Central Bureau: 11 Northeast Division, 3353 San Fernando Rd. West Bureau: 14 Pacific Division, 12312 Culver Blvd. Valley Bureau: 16 Foothill Division, 12760 Osborne St. South Bureau: 5 Harbor Division, 2175 John S. Gibson Blvd.; 18 Southeast Division, 145 W. 108th St. Other divisions, shown in white, are not participating.