L.A. Declares Impasse Over Police Contract

In an acknowledgment that contract talks are hopelessly deadlocked, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday declared an impasse in its dispute with the police union, prompting angry officers to threaten renewed protests to pressure the city into a deal.

Before the city voted for the impasse, about 500 officers demonstrated outside City Hall and then jammed the council chambers for a noisy confrontation with city leaders. They warned that declaration of an impasse would provoke an aggressive campaign during the World Cup soccer tournament to embarrass the city.

Mayor Richard Riordan shrugged off the threats and said he still holds out hope that the two sides can come together. Without revealing specifics, he said the city is willing to come up with a better offer than the $40-million deal that officers overwhelmingly rejected last month.

“I believe . . . that the police officers deserve a reasonable raise,” Riordan said at a news conference with council members. “But we cannot give in to demands that will essentially bankrupt the future of our city.”

He said he believed that officers would act professionally and that the police force would protect those attending World Cup soccer events beginning this weekend.

The city filed the impasse papers minutes before 5 p.m.--sending the dispute to the city’s Employee Relations Board, which intervenes in labor standoffs in city government.

The impasse process could take months and possibly result in the city unilaterally imposing a contract on the officers. The first step may be the introduction of another mediator to try to bring the two parties together. Should that fail, a fact finder will hear both sides in a courtroom-like setting and issue recommendations.

An impasse has been declared about 160 times since the city approved its labor relations ordinance in 1971, officials said. Typically, the process leads the two parties to a deal. When it does not, the city can impose its final offer on the union.

The police union is no stranger to the process.

An impasse was declared in 1986 when the police union was seeking a new contract from the city. After a fact finder recommended a deal, the city moved to impose a contract on officers, taking some of the fact finder’s recommendations but omitting others.

As the negotiations broke down Tuesday, there were signs of disarray among the union leadership.

After the union’s chief negotiator singled out council members for attack during an appearance before the City Council, the union president visited them individually to apologize.

Union negotiator Bill Harkness cited high-profile crimes in various council members’ districts and accused the members of failing to support the police.

“If you choose to (declare an impasse) and stick your head in the sand like a bunch of cowardly ostriches, you will further demoralize this Police Department,” he said, to the cheers of officers.

That prompted council President John Ferraro to cut him off. “Mr. Harkness, it’s OK to act tough, but that’s not going to settle this dispute.”

As the meeting progressed, union President Danny Staggs spoke with each council member to apologize for the harshness of Harkness’ remarks.

Among the protest strategies the union says it plans in the weeks ahead are a demonstration at Los Angeles International Airport in front of visitors arriving for the World Cup soccer tournament. Also planned are advertisements in foreign newspapers to point out the dissatisfaction of police officers and to highlight the city’s crime problems.

The union intends to go ahead with its controversial strategy of gathering personal information on city leaders to embarrass them into a deal.

The city attorney’s office has warned the union that such threats may be illegal. But union attorney Hank Hernandez dismissed that view and said none of the personal information they gather will come from confidential police files.

“They cannot restrict our freedom of speech,” said union spokesman Geoffrey Garfield. “My motto is: ‘Seek the truth, tell the truth, then duck.’ ”

Police Chief Willie L. Williams has sought to crack down on such a smear campaign, circulating a memo among commanders that warns that any illegal investigations of city leaders will result in dismissal, arrest or both.

“This issue is a very serious one and should never be made during the heat of battle or negotiations,” Williams wrote.