Violante Draws Fire for Union Letter : Police: New deputy mayor was irresponsible in offering to help departments hire away officers when LAPD wants to boost ranks, says Chief Willie Williams.

Police Chief Willie L. Williams expressed amazement Saturday that Deputy Mayor William C. Violante--while president of the police union--sent a letter to police departments around the state offering the union’s assistance in helping them hire officers away from the Los Angeles Police Department.

The letter was sent April 7, as the city was trying to boost the size of the police force.

Williams and some other city officials criticized the union for the letter, which they said undercut efforts to increase the size of the LAPD.

“You are not really living up to your responsibility to the citizens of this city if you’re sending out a letter like that,” the chief said in an interview Saturday. “I thought it was rather amazing that a union would try to decimate its own membership.”

The comments were Williams’ first public criticism of Violante since Mayor Richard Riordan surprised many people last week by appointing Violante as deputy mayor for public safety. Although Williams emphasized that he still believes Violante can serve effectively in that post, the letter drew new attention to the possibility of tension between two of the city’s top law enforcement figures.

Riordan, also interviewed Saturday, said he had not known about the letter when he appointed Violante but added that it did not shake his confidence in his new deputy mayor. “I’m going to judge Bill Violante on how he performs in the future,” the mayor said. “So far, he’s performed very well.”

In his letter, Violante cited low morale of rank-and-file LAPD officers and offered to let other police departments place advertisements in the “Thin Blue Line,” the monthly publication of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. He also told police chiefs that the union was compiling a list of officers who “have expressed a desire to locate to your area,” and he offered the league’s assistance in helping officers move out of Los Angeles.

“If you are interested in hiring laterally from this diverse, highly qualified pool, the Los Angeles Police Protective League--the employee organization representing Los Angeles police officers--would like to help you in any way possible,” the letter says.

Williams said he believes the letter, first reported Saturday in the Daily News, was sent because the union was frustrated at the pace of contract negotiations with the city. Council President John Ferraro, who supported Violante’s appointment, said the tone of the letter reflected the rough-and-tumble nature of those talks.

Violante wrote that “morale has never been lower. Every night a Los Angeles police officer goes to work, he or she fears being involved in a situation which will result in negative press publicity, civil liability and even criminal prosecution. Any allegation results in a disciplinary review by an authoritarian system with no opportunity for an impartial adjudication.”

Ferraro conceded that it was strident language, but the councilman said that in contract negotiations “it’s open season.”

Williams, however, said the contract talks did not give Violante the right to undermine the city’s recruiting efforts. Although Violante was the union president, he was also a police officer, Williams said, with responsibility for protecting the public safety.

Williams said he received calls from many other police chiefs who got the letter. But he added that despite the union’s offers of assistance, few officers were successfully recruited by other departments.

Williams’ comments were echoed by Police Commission President Jesse A. Brewer, who sharply criticized Violante and the union for sending the letter.

“My reaction was shock,” Brewer said. “I felt like we were out there trying to recruit officers, and we had someone working against us. They were undercutting our efforts.”

Brewer and Williams have reacted gingerly to Violante’s appointment as deputy mayor, avoiding opportunities to criticize the former union president. At a news conference Friday, Williams and Violante pledged to cooperate with each other.

Violante could not be reached for comment Saturday.