Baca’s Appeal of Insider Rule Fails : LAPD: Civil Service Commission says policy for selecting chief appears constitutional. Activists protest exclusion of Latino candidate.

Saying it is constrained by existing law, the Los Angeles Civil Service Commission on Friday rejected an appeal by a high-scoring Latino candidate for police chief who argued he was unfairly--and perhaps unconstitutionally--eliminated from a list of six finalists.

The denial of the challenge by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Division Chief Lee Baca brought swift protests from some Latino community activists who are upset that no Latino candidate is in the final running to replace Daryl F. Gates.

Baca’s quest to be included among the candidates has touched a nerve among Latinos who now constitute 40% of the city’s population and are seeking a greater voice in economic and political affairs.

Baca, who scored third overall but was bumped from the list of finalists by rules favoring LAPD candidates, urged the commission to seek a “creative” solution that would allow him to be considered and send a message of fairness and “inclusion” to the public.

Baca said “the public is outraged” by the City Charter rule requiring candidates from outside the LAPD to score higher than all insiders in order to become finalists. Baca called the rule--which also eliminated Phoenix Police Chief Ruben Ortega from contention--”deeply divisive” and “bureaucratic protectionism.”

He said the rule is particularly unjustifiable considering the historic significance of the race to succeed Gates and because much of City Hall’s leadership is urging its repeal in the June election.

After the commission’s vote, Baca said he was disappointed but would support the new chief. “This ends it for me,” he told reporters, “unless someone wants to invite me back.” Baca said he would not “gum up the works” by filing a lawsuit.

Civil Service commissioners agreed that the inside advantage should be eliminated.

Commissioner Kenneth Flowers recalled that he touched off a public controversy last year by suggesting that a chief from outside the LAPD would be a “breath of fresh air.”

The commissioners and the city attorney’s office said the current law appears constitutional and must be followed. “It’s a shame we are constrained,” said Commissioner Amelia Sherman.

Commissioner Raquelle de la Rocha said the decades-old insider advantage was intended to promote long-term careers in city government but has outlived its usefulness.

Assistant City Atty. Fred Merkin said the charter rule, while being “bashed” by city officials, “is the law today.”

The only possible option for the Civil Service Commission, Merkin said, was to invalidate the entire candidate rating process and start over--a tack rejected by the commissioners and Baca, who said he wanted to negotiate a settlement that would have permitted him to join the six finalists.

In remarks before the commission, Baca’s attorney said that Latinos were victims of a “double whammy in discrimination” in the chief selection process. Attorney Reese Lloyd noted that a recent lawsuit brought by the state alleged that Latinos have been held back in promotions to the LAPD’s upper ranks, prompting the city to agree to step up advancements of minorities in the future.

Lloyd said that there were only two Latinos among the 25 LAPD candidates eligible to compete for the chief’s job, both commanders who were eliminated in the oral interview process.

At the same time, Latinos who have gained top law enforcement command experience elsewhere are put at a significant disadvantage in the competition for police chief because of the rule favoring LAPD insiders, Reese said.

“It’s a Catch-22 of the worst kind,” he said. “It’s inherently discriminatory both on the law and common-sense reasoning.”

Eastside Councilman Mike Hernandez agreed, asking the commission: “How do we explain to (Latinos who are) 40% of the population that we chose to defend a system that is exclusive . . . outdated, archaic?”

Merkin of the city attorney’s office acknowledged that the rule discriminates against outsiders, but said there is no evidence it is biased against any particular ethnic group.

Although Baca said he does not intend to pursue the matter further, the chairman of a Latino business and community group that has been pressing for a Latino police chief criticized “the blindness of this commission to the magnitude of this issue.”

Xavier Hermosillo, chairman of NEWS for America, and a team of lawyers who rallied to Baca’s cause said they will explore the possibility of filing a lawsuit on behalf of taxpayers to overturn the rule that excluded Latinos.