Sheinbaum’s Comments Irritate Bradley : Dispute: Mayor says speculation about a hung jury was ‘irresponsible.’ Police commissioner admits to a ‘serious gaffe.’

Saying that well-laid plans for keeping peace in the city could have been upset, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and his top aide excoriated Police Commissioner Stanley K. Sheinbaum for his public speculations on the eve of announcement of verdicts in the Rodney G. King civil rights case.

By telling reporters Friday evening that the federal jury was prepared to make an announcement--and suggesting the possibility of a hung jury--Sheinbaum endangered peacekeeping plans developed over several months, said Deputy Mayor Mark Fabiani.

“Uninformed and irresponsible” was the way Bradley, at a Saturday morning news conference, described his commissioner’s comments. Aides said the mayor was livid.

“I’ll be talking to Mr. Sheinbaum about this matter on a personal and private basis,” the mayor said of the man who has been one of his closest advisers.

Sheinbaum admitted in a brief telephone interview that he was wrong to discuss the end of the trial of four Los Angeles police officers accused of violating King’s civil rights.

“I no doubt made a serious gaffe when I described the events of the following morning to have something to do with a verdict, when actually all I knew at the time was an announcement was to be made at 7 a.m. Saturday by the judge.

“Somehow, for reasons I can’t even explain to myself, I said something about a possible verdict. That may have been the grossest error I ever made in my life.”

Sheinbaum conceded that “the mayor was justified to be angry.” But he vehemently denied news reports that he had discussed the possibility that the jury was deadlocked. “I never said anything about a hung jury,” he insisted.

The Associated Press reported otherwise. In a Friday evening interview, the wire service said, Sheinbaum was asked if verdicts would be returned Saturday morning.

“Is a hung jury a verdict?” Sheinbaum reportedly responded. The commissioner never said that the jury was deadlocked, but his comments were nevertheless picked up by several television and radio stations.

“Potentially, that could have been very inflammatory,” Fabiani said. “His comments could have created an unfortunate situation in the city (Friday) night, if people had reacted differently.”

County Supervisor Mike Antonovich called on Sheinbaum to step down, saying he had “violated the trust of the agreement with the federal judge and disgraced himself.”

But Fabiani said it is unlikely that the commissioner will be disciplined with just 2 1/2 months remaining in his term, which ends when the mayor leaves office June 30. Fabiani said Bradley’s public upbraiding of Sheinbaum would “stand on its own.”

The criticism was unusual, particularly because of the close working relationship between the mayor and commissioner.

Bradley chose Sheinbaum, a civil libertarian and Democratic Party activist, to head the Police Commission during a difficult time. Sheinbaum led efforts to remove former Police Chief Daryl F. Gates and to hire Chief Willie L. Williams.

Despite the flap, Fabiani said, “nothing minimizes the contribution he made toward the change of the LAPD.”