S.F. Police Chief Under Pressure to Step Aside : Law enforcement: Mass arrests after King verdicts and alleged attempt to suppress newspaper draw fire.

Police Chief Richard Hongisto, already accused of violating the civil rights of protesters, faced three investigations Wednesday for allegedly ordering police officers to seize thousands of copies of a newspaper that criticized him.

In a city that has long prided itself on its tolerance, the charge against Hongisto caused an immediate uproar and presented Mayor Frank Jordan with the most serious crisis of his 4-month-old Administration.

The allegation also fueled criticism that the newly appointed police chief, who for years held a reputation as a liberal politician, exceeded his authority by ordering the mass arrests of hundreds of demonstrators peacefully protesting the verdicts in the Rodney G. King case.

Hongisto, who initially won praise for clamping down on looting right after the verdicts, faced mounting pressure Wednesday to step aside, at least until the charges against him are fully aired.

“This is a case about the abuse of power,” said Supervisor Jim Gonzalez. “I think it’s contrary to have the chief in power while this inquiry is going on.”

Hongisto told reporters that he had “absolutely not” ordered seizure of the papers.

The allegation that Hongisto instructed police officers to remove copies of the San Francisco Bay Times from street racks first surfaced within the Police Department and was reported to the mayor and Dist. Atty. Arlo Smith.

Gonzalez said one officer gave a tape-recorded statement that police were ordered by the chief to confiscate copies of the newspaper. “At least one officer admitted taking part in this activity at the direction of the chief,” the supervisor said.

The newspaper, circulated in the gay and lesbian community, was one of many voices critical of the police chief for mass arrests during the past two weekends. On the cover of the confiscated issue was an unflattering composite picture of Hongisto with a police baton between his legs and the headline, “Dick’s Cool New Tool: Martial Law.”

Mayor Jordan, on learning of the complaint against his police chief, ordered immediate investigations by the San Francisco Police Commission and the department’s internal affairs unit. At the Police Department’s request, the district attorney also launched his own inquiry to determine if any crime had been committed by seizure of the newspapers.

Jordan, a former police chief, said he would await the results of the police investigations and hoped to decide by Friday whether to fire Hongisto.

“I’m not going to make any kind of a statement on firings or anything else until I get all the facts,” the mayor said. “Let’s give everybody an opportunity to present their case. . . . Chief Hongisto has done an outstanding job, but this has to be resolved.”

The controversy over the allegations against Hongisto and the recent wave of arrests demonstrates not only the sweeping effect of the Rodney G. King case but the deep divisions within San Francisco over the proper role of the police.

As the furor over Hongisto spread, the odds increased that he would be the first big-city police chief to become a casualty of the King affair--preceding even Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.

Hongisto’s appointment as police chief six weeks ago was itself a surprise. A veteran liberal who had served as sheriff, supervisor and assessor, he lost to the more conservative Jordan in last year’s mayoral election.

Since taking office as chief, Hongisto has kept a high public profile, going out at night in a squad car to catch criminals and appearing in uniform at demonstrations to direct the arrest of protesters.

On the night of the King verdict, looting erupted on San Francisco streets. At first, the police were caught off guard, but Jordan declared a rare state of emergency and officers eventually arrested more than 1,100 people.

On the following night, as demonstrators gathered for a rally in the Mission District, Hongisto ordered the protesters to disperse. Police closed in and arrested 380 people, including many who said they were simply bystanders. Many were held in custody through the weekend.

“The loss of free speech is regrettable, but it is a cheap price to pay,” Hongisto told reporters at one point.

A week later, demonstrators again gathered in the Mission District, this time after the state of emergency and curfew had been lifted. The police ordered the protesters to follow a particular route for their march and then, according to several witnesses, blocked the roadway. More than 570 people were arrested on charges such as unlawful assembly and failure to disperse.

John Crew, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney who attended the demonstration, said the charges will not stand up because the police had no justification for making the arrests.

“This shocking abuse of police power is particularly astounding in the wake of the Rodney King verdict that triggered such outrage over the very topic of police abuse of power,” he said.

In the early morning hours of that same day, May 8, the San Francisco Bay Times was on the street with its edition that criticized Hongisto for the handling of the previous demonstrations.

According to Kim Corsaro, publisher and editor of the free newspaper, a witness reported seeing three men in suits taking copies out of a news rack and putting them in the trunk of an official-looking car, which was already packed with copies of the paper. Corsaro said a survey of the racks found that at least 3,000 of the 40,000 copies printed were stolen.

On Monday, someone within the Police Department reported the seizure of the papers, triggering the investigations into the chief’s role.

“There is a disturbing pattern here,” said Gonzalez, who served with Hongisto on the board of supervisors. “These preventive arrests go contrary to the Constitution. Now to suppress a newspaper goes contrary to the Constitution. This is a grave situation.”