Gays Step to the Forefront in L.A. Police Recruiting Campaign : Law enforcement: A medal-winner stands out as one example of a new sensitivity within the department.

As Los Angeles erupted in rioting, Officer Lisa Phillips--three years out of the Police Academy--became a hero when she and her partner braved a hostile mob to rescue a motorist under attack.

Their courage in fending off rocks and bottles to reach the unconscious woman and carry her to safety in April, 1992, brought Phillips and Officer Daniel Nee the Medal of Valor, the Los Angeles Police Department’s highest honor.

On Monday, Phillips, 34, was again hailed as a hero--this time for openness about being a lesbian and her efforts to help the police force recruit other lesbians and gays.

Citing the support of a gay officer who “gave me the courage to come out,” Phillips told a news conference at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center that being a lesbian has generated “very few negative comments.”

“When I’ve heard them, I’ve tried to educate,” said Phillips at the conference, which was attended by two City Council members, two police commissioners and other officials to mark National Coming Out Day and to launch a stepped-up recruiting effort by the LAPD.

Police Cmdr. Dan Watson, head of personnel for the LAPD and Phillips’ supervisor, said the department’s latest efforts--which began with a Monday night recruiting session at the Hollywood-based center--are a sign that the “department wants to reflect the diversity of this city. . . . We want to be sure we are opening the doors to all (groups of) people.”

He said the department’s initial efforts to recruit gays and lesbians--including having uniformed officers handing out materials at community events such as the annual Christopher Street West Parade--helped bridge the gap between police and the community, “but it’s time to do more.”

Saying “sexual orientation should be a non-issue,” Watson added that the department is taking steps to develop more sensitivity to gays and lesbians on the force and in the public. Lorri L. Jean, the center’s executive director, called the recruitment effort “a historic event . . . a significant signal to lesbians and gay men” that things are changing in the department once feared and hated for its raids on gay bars and alleged discrimination against gay officers.

In 1988, Officer Mitchell Grobeson resigned from the force and filed a lawsuit alleging that he was threatened and harassed because of his homosexuality. The suit was settled last February, and Grobeson rejoined the force in July, saying he believed things had changed for the better since Chief Willie L. Williams replaced Daryl F. Gates, who had opposed recruiting gays.

Officials are counting on officers such as Phillips to help dispel remaining prejudice.

Noting that “no laws can change public attitudes like action can,” Councilman Joel Wachs said Phillips’ bravery that April night proved that “the gay and lesbian officers of the LAPD are second to none.”

And it seemed clear from the evening’s recruitment session that young gays and lesbians are looking to role models when they consider a career in law enforcement.

Kurt Cooper, 21, who works for the Los Angeles Free Clinic, said he has been considering becoming a police officer.

“I’m sure I’d be nervous at first,” he said of the prospect of being an openly gay member of the department, “but I think I would have a lot of backing and support, and I think I could help people a lot.”