Latinos Slam Rules on LAPD Chief Selection

As the six finalists for Los Angeles police chief celebrated and readied themselves for the contest’s next round, criticism mounted Saturday over the exclusion of a Latino from the highly charged race to succeed retiring Chief Daryl F. Gates.

A key critic emerging Saturday was Laura Balverde Sanchez, one of two Latinas who served on the seven-member panel that chose the finalists from a field of 12 candidates. She said she believed that the panel “failed in our mission” to deliver the six most qualified applicants.

“I’m very upset by it,” said Sanchez, a prominent Mexican-American businesswoman active in politics. “In my mind, our objective was to come up with the top six candidates. . . . We did not meet the objective.”

Sanchez said that--with support from panel member Antonia Hernandez--she urged colleagues to name Division Chief Lee Baca of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department as a finalist, even though he failed to score higher than all the competitors from within the Los Angeles Police Department.

The City Charter, in a provision intended to give an edge to LAPD candidates, requires that outside applicants score higher than all insiders before they can make the final list. Although Baca placed in the highest of three categories--outstanding--he was eliminated because of the charter provision.

Sanchez said she “very strongly” pressed the other panelists to review their scoring so Baca could move up the list, above the inside candidates, but she did not prevail.

“I think an injustice was done to Mr. Baca,” Sanchez said. “He should be on the (finalist) panel and he should be a candidate.”

Baca said he believes he was not given a fair rating and is being encouraged by supporters to file a challenge with the city Civil Service Commission--an option he said he is reviewing. He also was critical of Philadelphia Police Commissioner Willie L. Williams’ placement at the top of the list.

“I don’t think the rating of the No. 1 candidate could be justified,” Baca, who grew up in East Los Angeles, said Saturday. “The man from Philadelphia can in no way establish he has the skills any of the local candidates have in dealing with the public in Los Angeles. No one can come from clear across the United States and establish the kind of rapport that members within the Police Department or myself have (here).”

City Councilman Richard Alatorre, who also criticized Baca’s elimination, has said he plans to hold a news conference this week to announce an effort to postpone the selection process, which the Los Angeles Police Commission hopes to complete by April.

Former state Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp, who chaired the rating panel, said Saturday that he shares Sanchez’s frustration, but insisted that the panel did the best job it could with a “fundamentally unfair” set of rules.

“Our job was not to send the top six (candidates), but to rate the candidates in order, and that’s exactly what we did,” he said. While refusing to discuss the deliberations, he said any effort to adjust Baca’s standing would have “skewed the ratings.”

While the controversy over Baca continued, many of the other finalists said in interviews that they were looking forward to the final selection process.

Deputy Chief Bernard C. Parks, the highest-rated inside candidate, said he will present himself to the Police Commission as a man who will have “respect for individuals internally and externally and, foremost, that there is reverence for the law and the rules we abide by.”

“The prime issue of credibility in a police department is created in day-to-day contact between the public and police officers,” he added. “That will always be the barometer in terms of our image and credibility.”

Parks and Williams, who are both black, received the highest ratings and are viewed as the front-runners, setting the stage for the city to have its first nonwhite chief. Asked about the prospect of breaking the LAPD’s color barrier, Parks said: “If that occurs, it would be a tremendous accomplishment for myself and my family and the community I was raised in.”

He emphasized that he would attempt to build bridges to all segments of the city.

Parks also challenged some anonymous critics who have contended that he has favored black police officers over whites for job promotions. “I don’t think,” he said, “it’s an accurate statement to identify blacks as a preferred group when I’ve made every effort to include all minorities and females” in promotions.

Williams is the first black police commissioner in Philadelphia history. And in an interview Friday evening, he said it has been difficult.

“The challenges of a minority chief will be double and triple because you will have to ensure all of the citizens from all over the city that you serve all of them,” he said.

He also deflected criticism that the selection of a chief from outside the LAPD would further damage morale of rank-and-file officers after last year’s police beating of Rodney G. King.

“It would not be an indictment against the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department,” Williams said. “And the real challenge would be to identify those fine young men and women inside the department who will lead after the new chief goes on.”

Despite the high marks earned by Williams and Parks, other finalists contacted Saturday said they believe the Police Commission is not necessarily bound to weigh the candidates according to their rankings.

“I’m going to assume that the field is wide open and that the choice of candidates will be based on what’s best for the city,” Deputy Chief Mark A. Kroeker said. “Along those lines, I think I have a very excellent chance.”

Deputy Chief Glenn A. Levant said: “I welcome the opportunity to continue in the process to serve the people of Los Angeles as chief of police.”

The other finalists, Assistant Chief David D. Dotson and Deputy Chief Matthew V. Hunt, could not be reached for comment.

Van de Kamp said he did not believe that Williams should necessarily be seen as the favorite just because he was given the highest score and is from outside Los Angeles.

“I think there are a number of people inside and out who have the potential to lead this department where it must go,” he said. “Just because somebody comes from the outside does not mean there is going to be a quick fix. He comes in with some strengths as well as handicaps, just as internally. It depends on who can unify the department and really step out.”

On the streets and in police stations Saturday, rank-and-file officers were discussing the finalists and weighing their virtues. While some expressed anxiety over an outsider becoming the city’s top law enforcement officers, others wondered whether a candidate should be judged by the color of his skin.

“I just want someone who will work, that’s all,” said Officer Ron Stilz, assigned to the Rampart Division. “Someone who will work hard for us, go out there and work for officers as well as the citizens.”

Times staff writers Leslie Berger and Josh Meyer contributed to this report.