Police Power to the People : City Council approves measure for June ballot on needed LAPD reform

When police brutally beat and kicked Rodney King, the world watched. That graphic videotape tarnished the image of the Los Angeles Police Department, and the city. It also prompted a thoughtful and thorough investigation of the LAPD by the independent Christopher Commission, a review that substantiated the need for reform.

Soon the voters will decide.

The Los Angeles City Council has placed on the June 2 ballot a proposed amendment to the City Charter that will increase the accountability of the police chief, strengthen the civilian Board of Police Commissioners and change the manner in which officers are disciplined.

The charter amendment starts at the top. It would change how a chief is selected and removed; limit to two five-year terms the chief’s tenure and impose similar term limits on the Board of Police Commissioners.

The proposed amendment would eliminate the protections currently embedded in the City Charter that allow the police chief too much freedom from accountability and too many safeguards against removal from the job. A strengthened Police Commission would have the authority to fire the chief, but that power would be balanced by the authority given to the mayor and council to reverse the action. The council would also have the power to oust a chief, but only by a two-thirds vote, a requirement tough enough to prevent petty politicking from forcing out a controversial but otherwise excellent chief. The ballot proposal would also increase the accountability of rank-and-file officers, and it addresses some of the commission’s findings of ineffective discipline in the department.

The council, initially shaky in its support, deserves credit for its eventual unanimous vote to place before the voters the full reform package.

As the Christopher Commission documented, the Los Angeles Police Department must change from the top down. The selection of a new chief must go hand in hand with police reform. Voters who care about public safety, a healthy economic future and the image of Los Angeles should approve the charter amendment on the June 2 ballot. It is a vote that the nation will be watching.