Binkley’s Fall Came When He Lost City Manager’s Support : Firing: An accumulation of complaints led city manager to withdraw support.

Ousted Police Chief Lawrence L. Binkley faced an array of criticism and allegations in recent weeks, but sources say that he ultimately lost his job because of his deteriorating relationship with the person who had been his biggest supporter, the city manager.

At the end of a six-week investigation, City Manager James C. Hankla concluded there was insufficient evidence that Binkley committed any wrongdoing. Nonetheless, the city manager fired Binkley on Jan. 17, saying he had lost confidence in Binkley’s leadership and judgment.

Hankla gave only general reasons for the termination of the reform-minded chief, who had long received praise and support from Hankla and other city officials.

But there were many factors that apparently tipped the scales against the chief, according to court documents and interviews with police and city officials.

“There was no clincher. It was an accumulation of things,” said one knowledgeable City Hall source.

Hankla began the investigation of the chief’s performance last month after learning that Binkley was facing a revolt among high-ranking department officers who were upset with his management style.

Cmdrs. John Bretza and Alvin Van Otterloo, long considered as Binkley loyalists, walked into City Hall, accompanied by attorneys, and presented a list of complaints about how the chief managed the department and treated people.

Union officials had long complained that Binkley ran the department with an iron fist. But this time, the complaints were coming from the upper ranks.

“When you have two commanders walking into an office, saying that if nothing is done there will be at least six more filing stress-related disability leaves and suing the city, that grabbed the city manager’s attention,” Councilman Les Robbins said.

Among their charges:

Binkley tried to pressure the commanders into filing fraudulent workers’ compensation claims as part of a scheme to help him and his assistant, Eugene Brizzolara, if they should file such claims themselves. Binkley and Brizzolara, who reportedly called medical claims “a good insurance policy,” have since both filed for stress-related disability leaves.

The chief ordered subordinates to not talk with the city’s personnel director and to ignore the advice of the city attorney in some matters.

Binkley made disparaging remarks about Hankla, accusing the city manager of allowing a personal relationship to interfere with the disciplining of an officer that the chief wanted to fire.

The allegations about Binkley’s criticism of the city manager, combined with statements Binkley later made to the press that were interpreted as threats against city officials, apparently destroyed his working relationship with Hankla, sources said.

“When Chief Binkley lost Jim Hankla, he didn’t have a leg to stand on,” said Ron Nelson, a longtime member of the city’s Public Safety Advisory Commission.

One councilman, echoing several colleagues, said: “After a certain point, it became evident that (Binkley) and the city manager parted ways and then it became a matter of when (he would be fired.)”

Hankla declined to be interviewed for this story. During a recent interview, Binkley also declined to talk about his relationship with Hankla. The chief has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.

Several of the commanders’ complaints about Binkley are linked to a civil case involving Officer Jack Ponce. The officer, while off duty, took out his gun during a fight outside a Belmont Shore bar and police arrested him the next day. Binkley wanted to fire Ponce but the city manager’s office disagreed and gave Ponce a 60-day suspension. The Civil Service Commission later reduced the suspension to 24 days, according to Ponce’s attorney, Jim Trott.

Ponce successfully sued Assistant Police Chief Brizzolara and Cmdrs. Van Otterloo and Bretza for false arrest. Ponce was awarded $30,000 in damages. Binkley blamed the officer’s court victory last fall on Hankla, saying that the department’s chances of winning the civil lawsuit would have been better if the city manager had fired the officer, according to sources.

The chief also made statements to the commanders that Hankla was favoring Ponce “because of a personal/business relationship,” according to court documents.

City and police sources said the city manager’s son and Ponce’s father have business dealings. But Hankla decided there was a potential conflict of interest and ordered Asst. City Manager John Shirey to handle the case, according to city officials. “(Hankla) told Shirey, ‘You do whatever is right. Don’t consult with me.’ And he walked away,” one councilman said.

After Hankla ordered the investigation of Binkley’s performance, the chief made the public statement that city officials interpreted as a threat. He told a reporter that he would ask for a grand jury review “of any and all elected and appointed officials and complete public exposure of everything found.”

“He made everyone angry with that,” one councilman said.

Binkley, in a recent interview, said his comment was misinterpreted. “If they were concerned about what I said, why didn’t they talk to me--instead of telling me to shut up? All they had to do was call me.”

The chief also became the center of another controversy when it was revealed that he had conducted secret investigations involving elected and appointed officials, ignoring a standing mandate from the city manager that such investigations should be referred to an outside agency.

Binkley has said the investigations involved criminal allegations and were not politically motivated. He also acknowledged that he hired two retired narcotics officers from the Los Angeles Police Department to investigate one public official.

Hankla, however, took issue with Binkley’s use of the department’s Secret Service Informant funds to hire such officers “without approval or authorization from the city manager,” according to documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court recently in connection with Binkley’s legal bid to win back his job.

The documents also revealed that Binkley apparently had angered the city manager previously by using a police helicopter to attend a retirement dinner in August. Hankla said in the documents that he counseled the chief following “the unauthorized use,” and Binkley responded: “I don’t care what you do to me, do whatever you want.”

Hankla said: “I was unsure if that cavalier statement reflected resignation or defiance.”

When Hankla added these various factors together, sources said, they spelled the end of Binkley’s nearly five-year career with the department.