Panel Wants New Report on L.A. ‘Problem Officers’

Los Angeles Police Commission President Jesse A. Brewer said Tuesday he will ask Chief Willie L. Williams for an evaluation of how the department has handled 44 so-called “problem officers” cited last year by the Christopher Commission.

Brewer’s request follows a report this week in The Times that identified the officers and revealed that 37 of them remain on the force, the vast majority in jobs that involve contact with the public.

Many of the officers, The Times reported, have not received extensive psychological counseling and new training that was recommended last year by the Christopher Commission in its landmark review of the LAPD operations after the Rodney G. King beating. Several of the officers on the list--accused of offenses ranging from clubbing handcuffed prisoners to covering up misconduct--were not officially informed they were on the list for months after the Christopher Commission report was completed.

The commission compiled the list of officers who had six or more complaints of using excessive force or improper tactics between 1986 and 1990. Critics of the list, including former Chief Daryl F. Gates and the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said that some officers were unfairly placed on it. They also complained that in composing the list the Christopher Commission did not give proper weight to whether the officers worked in high-crime areas, made a high number of arrests or were involved with other factors that can lead to citizen complaints.

Brewer said that earlier this year the commission asked for and received a report from Gates on the 44 officers.

“We asked for this kind of report from Chief Gates,” Brewer said. “I think we were satisfied at that time. Now to read that some have not been counseled--I want to find out if that is so, why?

“We need to know the status of the officers and what (Williams) intends to do about the situation.”

Williams was out of town and did not attend Tuesday’s commission meeting. He could not be reached for comment.

Brewer said he found “most disturbing” the report that one of the officers on the list was recommended for dismissal after a Board of Rights hearing but his job was saved by Gates in one of his last personnel actions before retiring. Brewer said he was unaware that Gates had gone against the recommendation of the panel, which had thoroughly investigated the officer’s action.

“He saw fit to keep that officer on the job,” Brewer said. “Now we are stuck with him.”

Commissioner Ann Reiss Lane said she also intends to ask Williams to report on whether all the officers on the list who are now in positions where they interact with the public have received proper counseling since the Christopher Commission findings.

However, she said that the department is in conflict when dealing with such officers.

“If you take them out of the field, you don’t want them on the desk because it is also a sensitive area,” she said. “. . . You just can’t terminate people. The ability to place them in non-public contact positions is difficult. We are a little conflicted on what we should do.”

Lane said that commissioners who discussed the newspaper story in a closed session Tuesday were stunned that the carefully protected identities of the officers were leaked. Additionally, the LAPD personnel department has begun making inquiries among officers to learn how the list was provided to The Times.

Brewer also noted that placing officers on assignments away from the public is difficult and expensive, particularly during a time when ranks are stretched thin and the department is following a philosophy of putting as many officers as possible on the streets.