Williams’ Open Door Sends Signal : LAPD: Chief’s meetings with minority and female officers may be a precursor of more diversity in the force’s middle and upper ranks.

First it was a group of women officers who took Willie L. Williams and his wife to lunch at the Velvet Turtle, even before he was sworn in as Los Angeles police chief.

Then came the leaders of African-American, Asian-American, Latino and gay and lesbian officers, all of whom have described their meetings with Williams as the first time a police chief has listened to their concerns so empathetically, if at all.

“This is the first time--as far as I know in L. A. County--that a law enforcement executive of Williams’ stature has met with a gay and lesbian police organization,” said Rampart Officer Marc Goodman, a gay patrolman who heads the 150-member group Pride Behind the Badge.

Williams says he has been speaking with a variety of officer groups, and is willing to meet with any organization. “Now, that may be land mines for some people,” he said Friday, “but doesn’t bother me.”

But by throwing open his door to outsiders--to officers who have long felt excluded from promotions and power--Williams is sending a strong signal that he will be more sensitive to discrimination issues and will see to it that more minorities and women are promoted, say police sources and leaders of the minority officer groups.

The meetings have been taking place as Williams prepares to appoint a command staff, as well as make a series of promotions in lower ranks. This month, Williams asked Mayor Tom Bradley for a blanket exemption from a citywide hiring freeze that would enable him to fill dozens of vacancies and proceed with reorganization of the department.

If the hiring freeze exemption is approved by the mayor and City Council, Williams would be in position to make an unprecedented number of promotions, from the mid-level ranks of sergeant and lieutenant up to assistant chief.

“I can’t remember when we’ve had this many vacancies at the top ranks,” said Police Commission President Jesse A. Brewer, the department’s highest-ranking black officer before he retired as an assistant chief. Brewer’s old post, and the department’s two other assistant chiefs’ positions, are vacant.

Williams also would be able to place women and minorities in decision-making roles, long dominated by white males, at a time when civic leaders in post-riot Los Angeles are calling for greater balance in the department.

“There is no doubt that the civil disturbance or uprising or rebellion or riots--whatever you want to call it--has prodded things,” said Police Commissioner Stanley K. Sheinbaum.

Although white men make up just over half of the department’s 7,900 officers, according to Police Department statistics, they hold three-quarters of its top jobs. The department’s five deputy chiefs include one black officer, while its 18 commanders include two blacks and two Latinos, records show.

Williams said that although he considers quality “the key thing,” he is committed to seeking out minority candidates on the department’s lists of officers who have passed Civil Service exams and are eligible for promotion.

“You won’t find me going outside the system, but there is opportunity over the next couple of years to see some major gains for both minority candidates and women,” he said.

“Everyone must be qualified but I’ve made the commitment that if (minority) candidates are available, then the chief will reach them.”

Williams’ plan is to pick deputy chiefs first, to give him a wider field to choose from when he names his top aides, the assistant chiefs. Sources speculate that because the current deputy chiefs include no Latinos and only one black officer, the plan would also enable Williams to promote Cmdrs. Robert S. Gil, a Latino, and Ronald C. Banks, who is black, to assistant chief.

But Williams said he has set no racial formula for the positions.

Williams also will have to work within the guidelines of an aggressive affirmative action plan that was approved Monday in U. S. District Court here.

Known as the Hunter-La Ley consent decree, the plan addresses how the ranks of detective, sergeant and lieutenant--considered steppingstones to command-level positions--are to be chosen over the next 10 to 15 years.

The consent decree calls for parity between the number of minority candidates for those mid-level ranks and the officers selected. It also calls for funds to be set up for job training and for repaying minority officers who can demonstrate that they were unfairly denied pay-grade increases.

Approval of the consent decree ended nearly four years of litigation against the department by the Latin-American Law Enforcement Assn. (known as La Ley, or “the Law” in Spanish), by an Asian-American officer group and by John W. Hunter, a black detective. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said last week that although minorities constitute 45% of the department’s entry-level positions, they make up 24% of detectives, 21% of sergeants and 17% of lieutenants.

Fearful that their chances for promotion will dwindle as a result, a fledgling group called Officers for Equality plans to challenge the consent decree in court. The founders--who refer to themselves as “non-minorities”--say they are not racist, but concerned about diminishing standards and reverse discrimination.

“I believe in affirmative action. I believe we should seek to reflect the community we serve. But not at the cost of the best-quality service,” said Lt. Richard Dyer.

Dyer and the group’s co-founder, Sgt. Daniel Pugel, say they have received 500 calls from officers who have either expressed interest in becoming members or who have contributed to a legal fund to fight the consent decree. Although the group appears to be made up mainly of white males, Pugel and Dyer say many women and minorities have quietly expressed support or given them money because they worked hard for their jobs and resent “hand-outs.”

Pugel and Dyer said they decided to take this action when their union, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, refused to support their legal fight and maintained a neutral stand on the consent decree.

The 7,800-member organization, whose nine-member board has one Latino, also has come under fire from minority officers.

Van Nuys-based Sgt. Nicholas Wade, president of a black fraternal group called the Oscar Joel Bryant Assn., said he resented using union dues to pay for the defense of the four officers accused of beating Rodney G. King.

“There is a strong feeling among OJB and myself that they don’t address our concerns,” Wade said. “I can’t pay my money for an issue like that that offends blacks.”

League President Bill Violante said the union took no position on the consent decree because “we can’t represent one group of our members against another group.”

And like Williams, Violante said he hopes to give minorities a higher profile in the league. He said he is working on a proposal to have each minority association select its own delegates, in the same manner that each division within the Police Department chooses delegates to attend meetings and keep up with issues.