TV Rejects Ad Against Measure F

At least two television stations are refusing to air what they call an “inflammatory” political commercial featuring close-up footage of the beating of trucker Reginald O. Denny during the Los Angeles riots.

The commercial, produced by opponents of the police reform measure on the June 2 ballot, suggests that police officers’ failure to come to Denny’s aid was due to political interference that would worsen if Amendment F passes.

“On April 29, your police wanted to do their job but were not allowed to,” an announcer intones before the image of Denny flashes onto the screen.

The 30-second commercial was produced on behalf of the Police Protective League, Amendment F’s leading opponent, and was scheduled to air this week on Channel 2 (KCBS) and Channel 7 (KABC).

But officials in charge of broadcast standards at both stations decided on Tuesday that the commercial was inappropriate.

A third station, Channel 5 (KTLA), ran the commercial twice Tuesday morning, but pulled the plug on a scheduled airing Tuesday night.

“The commercial in question will not run until further review,” said Ed Harrison, spokesman for Channel 5. “We will make a decision on Wednesday.”

Police officials have suggested that politicians pressured the department not to act aggressively for fear of provoking disturbances in the aftermath of the Rodney G. King beating verdicts. But the commercial is the boldest assertion yet that this pressure resulted directly in the decision of a field commander not to send officers into the intersection where Denny was beaten.

Opponents of Amendment F claim that the measure would lead to the politicization of the Police Department by making the chief more accountable to elected officials.

Geoffrey Garfield, campaign director for the 8,100-member police union, said it was “unfortunate that these television stations have decided for the public what they should see and not see.”

“But,” Garfield added, “this is not going to stop us from getting the message out.”

However, the union is being hampered in that regard by the loss of its campaign foot soldiers--off-duty police officers expected to go door-to-door and to operate phone banks. Most of the officers who worked the riots are now too tired to stump, Garfield said.

“We anticipated a lot more officers,” Garfield said. “Quite naturally, with officers spending 14-hour days, seven days a week, without a day off, a lot of them are not available to campaign.”

So instead of deploying “Officer Friendly,” the union is having to rely on volunteer civilians to walk precincts and meet with neighborhood groups in an effort to persuade voters that Amendment F could politicize and corrupt the Police Department.

The measure would limit a police chief to two five-year terms, allow the mayor to nominate a new chief and provide civilian review of officer misconduct by adding a citizen member to disciplinary panels.

Proponents say the changes are needed to make the Los Angeles Police Department more accountable to residents and more responsive to minority communities.

In a third setback for anti-Amendment F forces, the measure has been endorsed and included on at least three Republican slate mailers targeting an estimated 200,000 high-propensity voters.

But Garfield dismissed the importance of the “Yes on F” message on Republican slates, saying: “We’re on several slates ourselves, both Democratic and Republican . . . People are not going to vote a certain way just because they see it on a slate.”

“A slate is not a primary media tool,” Garfield said. “It serves the same purpose as billboards and posters by reinforcing radio, television and direct mail messages.”

Richard Lichtenstein, manager of the campaign for Citizens for Law Enforcement and Reform (CLEAR), which backs Amendment F, disagreed. “The Republican slates are a reflection that this campaign bridges all ethnicities and political parties,” he said.

But the biggest furor Tuesday was unleashed over the broadcast campaign.

Channel 2 General Manager Steve Gigliotti decided the union’s first television commercial was unworthy of airplay because it is “insensitive and inflammatory to Los Angeles’ community.”

“KCBS has not taken a position on (Amendment) F and our decision not to air the advertisement should not be construed as a political statement by the station,” Gigliotti said. He added that “we are currently running a ‘No on Proposition F’ ad which does not include riot footage.”

Similarly, Channel 7, which received a copy of the commercial on Monday, decided to drop it on Tuesday.

“We have decided not to air it because it is inflammatory and inappropriate,” said Georgia Seid, director of broadcast standards and practices at Channel 7.

Lichtenstein also blasted the controversial commercial: “I’m glad these stations recognized it served no purpose to air something that is factually incorrect and inflammatory.”

But Garfield suggested that the stations’ position on the commercial was “hypocritical.”

“They think it’s inflammatory, but these people run news spots of three-headed transsexuals!” Garfield said. “But there is nothing we can do about it. It’s their air.”

The police union’s campaign problems come a week after a Los Angeles Times poll found that a majority of voters are disillusioned with Police Chief Daryl F. Gates--a high-profile opponent of the measure--and inclined to support the amendment.

The poll also found, however, that while voters by a margin of 61% to 17% favored the measure, 22% were undecided and 35% said they might change their minds.