THE SIMPSON MURDER CASE : Handling of Chase, Surrender Shows Police Deserve a Raise

The gag after O.J. Simpson escaped from the Los Angeles cops was: “And these guys want a raise?”

Several hours later, after watching the chase and Simpson’s surrender to police who had done their job under extraordinary pressure and public attention, I thought, “Right. And they deserve it.”

*

Everyone had their own reactions to Friday’s drama. To some, it was the fall of a hero. Others were preoccupied with the thrill of a televised chase, a buddies-on-the-loose movie, happening before our eyes. Then there was the tragedy of the victims, the long-battered ex-spouse, Nicole, trapped in a dangerous relationship, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. And the Simpson children, whose psychological damage will surely stick with them through their lives.

The police pay raise was on my mind, as well, probably because I was gathering material for a column on the subject. What a time to be demanding a raise, during such a high-pressure case.

So, in the middle of the O.J. Simpson drama on Friday, I walked from the paper across Spring Street to City Hall to interview people on an issue that at that moment seemed almost irrelevant. Television news vans were parked on the sidewalk, getting ready for Simpson’s arraignment, scheduled for later in the day at the Criminal Courts Building across the street. There was a lot of excitement building around Civic Center.

Inside City Hall, the pay dispute was quietly heading toward settlement, with the council ready to approve a 7% raise next week, plus bonuses for patrol work and extra money for equipment.

I had mixed emotions about it--and the police. I felt the cops deserved a good raise. The City Council, the mayor and assorted bureaucrats had sat on their hands for months during negotiations.

But some of the leaders of the cops’ union, the Police Protective League, had been behaving badly. They made plans to disrupt World Cup festivities. They threatened to investigate and publicize the private lives of City Council members and Mayor Richard Riordan. Crooks engage in blackmail, not cops.

I wasn’t the only one unhappy with the union’s loudmouth faction. Councilman Richard Alatorre who, along with Riordan, put the settlement together, told me about his two days of meetings with the league board. Alatorre loves the cops, but even he seemed miffed.

He said he told the board how he felt “in my own inimitable style. After every five words, you might at least be able to put one of them in your newspaper.”

I went over to the mayor’s office to get Riordan’s opinion. He was pleased about the settlement. “I think it was a very reasonable deal,” he said.

Riordan is as much a cop-lover as Alatorre, but as we talked, the subject of the union’s tactics came up. “I’m not someone anyone is going to push around or intimidate,” Riordan said. However, he wondered about the rebelliousness some of the union leaders had been spreading before the settlement and whether “a certain percentage (of police) will be infected with that the rest of their careers.”

The interview over, Riordan said, “Let’s go watch O.J.” We stood in front of a small television set in his inner office, waiting for Simpson to be brought into the Criminal Courts Building for his arraignment.

Of course, Simpson didn’t show up. We got tired of waiting, and I returned to the paper. Police Cmdr. David J. Gascon was on television, announcing that Simpson had escaped.

A rebellious union. An escaped celebrity suspect. What a bad day for the LAPD.

*

But by evening, we’d all seen how good the department could be.

I watched the chase on television at home. Toward the end, I could hear the news helicopters overhead as the bizarre procession, northbound on the San Diego Freeway, passed Olympic Boulevard, near our house.

Not long after, when the chase ended at Simpson’s mansion, you could see the LAPD’s skill. Even the dim pictures at nightfall gave viewers a sense of the careful conversations that drew Simpson from the Ford Bronco. Nobody ran around hysterically. SWAT team members, in their bulletproof vests, stayed in the background.

The whole country was watching. Screwing this one up would bring out every second-guesser from here to the Atlantic Coast. But the cops operated with the talent and efficiency of one of O.J.’s old Trojan teams.

Give them a raise. They’ve earned it.