Christopher Panel to Join Fight Over Charter Reform : Police: Updated commission report is expected to urge voters to back measures, including limiting chief’s tenure.

Six months after the release of its landmark recommendations to reform the Los Angeles Police Department, the Christopher Commission today will plunge into the heated battle over its proposals to amend the City Charter.

In a six-month update to be made public today, the commission will focus heavily on what it sees as the need for voters to support charter amendments on police reform expected to be placed on the June 2 ballot. The controversial amendments, which grew out of the panel’s recommendations, would limit the police chief to two five-year terms and give the citizen Police Commission, the mayor and the City Council more control over the Police Department.

But in the panel’s careful, measured style, the report is not expected to levy any direct criticism at Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, who has publicly opposed the reforms.

“We’re supporting them (the reforms),” said Commissioner Richard Mosk, “and to the extent that supporting them is inconsistent with somebody who opposes them, then I suppose that is dealing with it.”

Said one source familiar with the document: “The report is clearly trying to stay away from getting embroiled in current controversies. The purpose of the report is to summarize where things have gone over the last six months and what needs to be done.”

Supporters of the amendments are looking to the update to again raise the issue of police reform in the public mind. The Christopher Commission--which conducted an unprecedented investigation of the department in the wake of the March police beating of motorist Rodney G. King--enjoyed widespread support when it published its first report in July. Advocates of reform, including Mayor Tom Bradley, are hoping the update will allow them to capitalize on that support during the election.

“The interim report by the commission will help remind the public that part of the job still needs to be done, that people still have to vote in June to finish the job that was started in July,” said Deputy Mayor Mark Fabiani. “The mayor believes that once people are reminded of the commission’s conclusions, and what is necessary to accomplish those conclusions, that overwhelming public support will be there.”

But reform opponents predict that the new report, coming just four months before the election, will be viewed in a political context, and at least one political analyst agrees.

“Anything you say once you are into the election season is going to be viewed more cautiously,” said consultant Joe Cerrell. Voters, he said, will ask: “ ‘Isn’t this really . . . an electioneering gimmick, as opposed to the original report?’ There will be a jaundiced eye on this one.”

The 10-member commission, chaired by former Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher, met in closed session Wednesday to put the finishing touches on the report.

While panel members would not disclose details, the report is expected to offer a look at how the Police Department is progressing on a wide range of proposed reforms.

The commission’s July report addressed such issues as the use of excessive force, the training of officers, the handling of citizen complaints, the department’s relations with the community and the role of the police chief. Among its strongest recommendations was the suggestion that Gates step down to clear the way for new leadership in the department.

That recommendation, along with others, is already in the works. Gates has announced that he will retire this year, although he has pushed the date back from April to June. The department recently implemented a community-based policing program designed to improve its relations with the public, especially those in minority communities.

Two weeks ago, the City Council approved a plan to spend $250,000 to double the size of the Police Commission staff so that the citizen panel can better investigate complaints and audit the Police Department.

But the commission’s most difficult task in implementing reform will come when voters decide about the charter amendments. The amendments proposed for the June ballot would strip the chief of Civil Service protection, giving the Police Commission the authority to fire him, with the mayor and the City Council having authority to reverse such a firing. The proposals would also give the council authority to fire the chief by a two-thirds vote.

A political battle is shaping up over the changes. Christopher is expected to chair the campaign for reform, while the anti-reform forces have created a group called CIVIC--Citizens for Integrity and Viability in the City Charter.

Howard Ekerling, a Sherman Oaks attorney and co-chairman of CIVIC, complained on Wednesday that the Christopher Commission, by releasing its update, is “stacking the deck by giving their own work publicity in advance of the time when people really have a chance to understand the issues.”

But John Spiegel, the commission’s general counsel, said the commissioners believe that unless police reform is made “a permanent part of the landscape,” the momentum toward change may dissipate as the King beating fades from the public memory.

“I don’t think that has to do with politics,” Spiegel said. “It has to do with the fundamental task that the commission was asked to undertake.”