THE TIMES POLL : 81% Critical of Gates; Police Reform Backed

Thoroughly disillusioned with Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, a broad cross-section of Los Angeles voters are inclined to support a City Charter amendment that would expand the authority of City Hall over the police chief, limit the chief’s term of office and strengthen police disciplinary procedures.

A Los Angeles Times poll found disapproval of Gates running at 81%, an unprecedented level of dissatisfaction and a dramatic reversal from as recent as three years ago, when Gates enjoyed a 61% approval rating.

At the same time, the poll found that voters by a margin of 61% to 17% were inclined to support Charter Amendment F, with 22% undecided. The June ballot measure was proposed by the Christopher Commission last year as part of a reform package designed to make the Police Department more accountable to residents and more responsive to minority communities. The poll found that a majority of Anglos, African-Americans and Latinos favor the amendment.

Gates has been campaigning vigorously in opposition to the measure, which will come before voters June 2.

The chief, who has insisted that he retains strong support among the public, declined to comment Thursday on his dismal ratings in the poll or whether he has become a political liability for the campaign against Charter Amendment F.

But as he left a Universal City luncheon honoring law enforcement officers and firefighters--where a crowd of several hundred welcomed him with a standing ovation--Gates expressed bitter regret at the show of support for the amendment.

“I can’t help it if they want to make a mistake and destroy their city,” Gates said. “There’s not much I can do about that.”

Despite the edge Charter Amendment F has at the moment, the poll found evidence that sentiment could swing widely in either direction before Election Day. Only 52% of the voters interviewed said they were familiar with the amendment, and 12% very familiar. Thirty-five percent said they might change their minds.

The poll results show a continuing slide in support for Mayor Tom Bradley. His approval rating has fallen to 38% from 44% the week after the riots and from 48% last July. The poll also found significant waning of enthusiasm for the mayor among key elements of the diverse coalition that he has relied on for nearly two decades. If the election for mayor was held now, 34% of blacks said they would not vote for Bradley and 32% said they were unsure. Among Jews, 59% said they would not vote for him, as did 47% of liberals and 51% of Latinos.

Bradley had little to say about his poll numbers. “I do the best I can every day. I can’t be influenced by what a poll may show.”

But he was gratified to hear about the dissatisfaction with Gates, his longtime adversary.

“People have seen here is a man who is out of control, out of control of any civilian authority.”

The Times Poll, conducted by John Brennan from Saturday through Tuesday, surveyed 1,409 adult residents of Los Angeles, including 972 registered voters. The survey of all adults has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points and plus or minus four points for registered voters. Some of those polled agreed to discuss their views with reporters.

The poll also sought to gauge the level of support for the Police Department. Although it found that most people are unhappy with the department, it is clear that the public is nowhere near as disenchanted with the police force as it is with the chief.

Fifty-five percent of those interviewed said they disapproved of the department, substantially less than Gates’ 81% unfavorable rating. Moreover, the department fared better than it did immediately after the Rodney G. King beating in March, 1991, when it received a 59% disapproval rating. Support for the police was highest among conservatives, 56%; Anglos, 49%, and in the San Fernando Valley, where 48% of residents said they approved of the job the police are doing.

But people in general said the police were doing a pretty good job in their neighborhoods. For example, 64%--including 60% of blacks and 56% of Latinos--said the police were doing a good job of holding down crime. And 54% said the police were effectively reaching out to their communities.

On the other hand, 60% of those polled said the police could have contained the rioting if they had reacted differently in the early hours of the violence. And 52% said the system by which the Police Department is run is basically sound.

The poll results on Charter Amendment F reflected the voters’ mood three weeks before the election. Campaign spokesmen on both sides saw grounds for optimism in the survey.

Richard Lichtenstein, who is managing the campaign for the measure, said the poll numbers indicate that “the message we have put out--that the reforms proposed by the Christopher Commission will result in a stronger LAPD and safer streets--is getting across to people.”

He added that he was pleased, rather than disappointed, that just more than half the voters are familiar with the measure.

“Certainly, the 52% familiar with the measure is encouraging. Two and a half weeks out, for over half the population of the city to be familiar with the measure is an encouraging sign. Most people do not focus on the political part until the last week or so.”

Geoffrey Garfield, who is running an opposing campaign on behalf of the Police Protective League, said The Times Poll made it clear that the deep disenchantment with Gates does not translate into overwhelming support for Charter Amendment F.

“Gates is not the issue and these results show it,” Garfield said. “People are clearly making the distinction between Gates and how they feel about the LAPD. Gates is standing alone.”

Garfield said the poll results on the measure “show me this is still a very volatile race that can go either way.”

Yet there are a number of people with strong, fixed notions of how they will vote.

Essie Riley, a black homemaker, said the Christopher Commission and the riots persuaded her that the Police Department must be run differently, starting with who hires and fires the chief.

“What got to me was the situation with the chief and the decision he made on refusing to leave the job,” Riley said, referring to Gates’ refusal to step down after the King beating. “We need more voices in that decision. . . . The riot makes me feel stronger about it.

But Ken Walkey, a 61-year-old retired mechanical design engineer, said the riots reinforced his view that with Charter Amendment F, politicians would handcuff the police.

“I’m dead against it,” Walkey said. “The riots, if anything, along with the press and the TV journalists, made my opinions a little stronger.”

The proposed amendment would change the way the Police Department is run in several ways, and the poll asked voters to give their views on key elements of the measure.

The largest majority, 82%, said they were in favor of the provision that would limit the chief to two five-year terms. If Gates retires as expected at the end of June, the two-term limit, if passed, would apply to Police Chief-designate Willie L. Williams.

Sixty-four percent favored a provision of the amendment that would alter the system for selecting a chief, which now relies heavily on the results of a Civil Service examination. Strong support for the provision was voiced by just 36%. The charter change would give the mayor authority to appoint the chief from a list of candidates screened by the city Board of Police Commissioners. The mayor’s nominee would have to be approved by the City Council.

Three-fourths of the voters favored a change that would allow the Police Commission, with the consent of the mayor and the council, to remove the police chief. Now, removal is subject to a Civil Service finding of wrongdoing.

A slightly larger majority of voters, 80%, approved of a provision that would add a civilian to the panel that hears charges brought against a police officer. The provision also would extend the time available to bring charges and allow evidence of an officer’s previous misconduct to be used in disciplinary hearings.

Just over 75% indicated support for another provision that would extend the range of penalties for officers found guilty of misconduct, allowing them to be demoted from their Civil Service classifications and making it possible to deny officers disability pensions when their incapacity is caused by willful misconduct.

The poll also sought to gauge the effect of the principal campaign arguments for and against Charter Amendment F. Slightly more than half the voters said they would be more inclined to vote for the ballot measure based on the argument that the amendment would make the Police Department more accountable to the public. One-third said they would be less likely to vote for it if they were persuaded that giving City Hall more control over the police chief would restrict the independence of the department and encourage corruption.

The contention that Charter Amendment F would politicize the department has been the main theme of the opposition’s campaign.

Voters will not be able to pick and choose among the various provisions. Instead, they will have to vote “yes” or “no” on the whole package--a situation that may cause some people to vote against the measure even though they approve of a portion of it.

Terry Garabedian, a 73-year-old Anglo, is a case in point.

He expressed strong support of term limits.

“After they are there so long they get to feeling like Jesus Christ,” Garabedian said. “Give somebody else a chance.”

But he said he did not like the mayor having more power over the police chief.

“The mayor would get his own cronies in there. Everything is politics.”

He said he was leaning toward a “no” vote on the measure, partly because he objected to packaging so many controversial proposals in one amendment.

“I don’t think it should all be crammed in one package. You got to take all the bad to get the good. . . . That’s bull. . . . Why ball them all up in one measure?”

The poll also queried voters about another measure on the June ballot, a proposed “buy American” amendment to the charter that would allow city officials to give preference to Los Angeles County and California companies when considering bids for city contracts. The amendment would also set a requirement that a certain percentage of all goods and services purchased by the city originate in the United States.

Slightly more than 50% of the voters said they would vote for it if the election were held now; 30% would vote against it, and 17% said they did not know how they would vote. However, a majority said they could change their mind on the issue and a small proportion of the voters, 24%, said they were familiar with the measure.

Assistant Times Poll director Susan Pinkus and staff writers Rich Connell and Henry Weinstein contributed to this article.

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Poll interviewed 1,409 Los Angeles city adults, including 972 registered voters, by telephone, May 9 through 12. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the city. Random-digit dialing techniques were used to ensure that both listed and unlisted numbers were contacted. Interviewing was conducted in English and Spanish. Results were weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age and household size. The margin of sampling error for percentages based on the total sample is plus or minus three percentage points and four percentage points for registered voters. For certain subgroups, the error margins are somewhat higher. Poll results can also be affected by other factors such as question wording and the order of question presentation.

THE TIMES POLL

Charter Amendment F

The Times Poll interviewed 1,409 adults living in the city of Los Angeles, including 972 registered voters, May 9 through 12 . The poll sought opinions on Charter Amendment F, which would expand the authority of City Hall over the police chief, limit the chief to two five-year terms and strengthen disciplinary procedures within the department. Respondents also were asked to rate the job done by certain city officials and by the Los Angeles Police Department. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tom Bradley is doing his job as mayor of the city of Los Angeles?

NOW 5/4/92 7/91 3/91 Approve 38% 44% 48% 61% Disapprove 55% 46% 41% 28% Don’t know 7% 10% 11% 11%

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Daryl Gates is handling his job as chief of police?

NOW 7/91 3/88 Approve 16% 28% 61% Disapprove 81% 64% 16% Don’t know 3% 8% 23%

Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Los Angeles Police Department is handling its job?

NOW 7/91 Approve 40% 42% Disapprove 55% 52% Don’t know 5% 6%

Those surveyed were asked how their positions on the charter amendment would be shaped by various arguments. Here are four:

How about the argument that Charter Amendment F is based on the careful in-depth studies, hearings and recommendations of the Christopher Commission? Does that make you: More likely to support: 36% Less likely to support: 6% No change: 52% Don’t know: 6%

How about the argument that Charter Amendment F would give city politicians too much control over the police chief and the Police Department, restricting their independence and encouraging corruption. Does that make you: More likely to support: 13% Less likely to support: 33% No change: 48% Don’t know: 6%

How about the argument that Charter Amendment F is the only way to ensure that the police chief and the LAPD are truly accountable to the people of Los Angeles? Does that make you: More likely to support: 55% Less likely to support: 8% No change: 32% Don’t know: 5%

How about the argument that Charter Amendment F will hurt the morale of the LAPD at a time when the city needs to send the police a message of support? Does that make you: More likely to support: 11% Less likely to support: 18% No change: 65% Don’t know: 6%