Council Backs Civilians on LAPD Rights Panels

After a delay of more than two years, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday finally decided to put civilians on police disciplinary boards.

The move is designed to build public confidence in the department’s internal disciplinary process and to advance the reform agenda put forth in 1991 by the Christopher Commission after the videotaped beating of Rodney G. King by Los Angeles police officers.

The council’s order to draft an ordinance changing the makeup of the Los Angeles Police Department Boards of Rights is another milestone in the implementation of Charter Amendment F, the sweeping police reform initiative approved by voters in 1992.

The Boards of Rights, which hear cases of alleged police misconduct, now are composed of three police officers of the rank of captain or above. Under the measure being drafted for the council, one officer would be replaced by a civilian, drawn from a pool of 48 approved by the Police Commission on Tuesday.

Among those in the pool are Avis Ridley-Thomas, whose husband, Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, is a frequent critic of the Police Department, and attorney Carl Douglas, whose law partner, Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., recently won a $4.5-million award for a teen-age girl molested by an LAPD officer.

Also on the list are Ethics Commissioner Cynthia Telles and former Police Commissioners Ann Reiss Lane and Anthony De Los Reyes.

Police officials said that considering the average number of misconduct cases, most people on the list can expect to be called to serve on a board once or twice a year.

Under the ordinance being drafted, an officer facing a board hearing would be given the names of three people drawn from the list. The officer would have the right to reject one of the three and the department would have the right to reject another.

Although many of those on the civilian list have legal backgrounds, the Police Commission will provide the necessary training for those who do not, according to Police Commissioner Deirdre Hill.

The boards examine personnel records, listen to sworn testimony, rule on the admissibility of that testimony, determine the guilt or innocence of the accused and recommend disciplinary actions.

The more than 100 recommendations of the Christopher Commission--named for its co-chairman, Warren Christopher, who is now U.S. secretary of state--have become the guiding document of the city’s police reform advocates.

Though dozens of the measures recommended by the commission have been stalled by budget shortfalls, bureaucratic snafus, stalled negotiations and other problems, observers have seen a growing impetus in the push for reform.

The decision to change the Boards of Rights sailed through the council Wednesday on an 11-1 vote. Councilman Hal Bernson cast the dissenting vote.