Waters Voices Concerns About Alleged Bias of Hawthorne Police

Rep. Maxine Waters has asked the federal Justice Department to make sure the Hawthorne Police Department is not discriminating against black officers and applicants before federal money is released for a community policing program.

In a letter to U.S. Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, Waters (D-Compton) raised concerns about the department’s hiring practices and racial makeup. The force has only three African Americans among 90 sworn officers, or about 3%, city officials say. By contrast, the city’s population is 28% African American, according to 1990 Census figures. The department also has not adopted an affirmative action plan.

“When you have three . . . and no affirmative action plan, that appears to be a problem,” said Patrick Lacefield, spokesman for Waters.

In addition, a black applicant who was turned down and an officer on the Hawthorne force filed separate discrimination complaints this year against the Police Department.

Waters brought the situation to the Justice Department’s attention because the complaints and local news reports about them created “anxiety in the community,” the letter said.

In May, Hawthorne was given preliminary approval for a $553,000 federal grant to hire six new officers. But before the money is released, U.S. Department of Justice officials said, police departments must answer a series of questions, including whether any charges of discrimination have been settled or are pending and whether an affirmative action program is in place.

A grant cannot be awarded to a department if systematic discrimination is found, and if a department violates requirements after the grant has been given, the money could be withdrawn, justice officials said. However, they said, they try to fix the discrimination problem before they withdraw a grant.

“The goal is to bring (departments) into compliance, not to penalize the community,” said Harri J. Kramer, director of justice programs.

In one of the cases pending against the department, a former Gardena police officer complained to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that he was denied a job in Hawthorne because he is black.

Dorian Burton, who is now with the Inglewood Police Department, said he was taken off Hawthorne’s hiring list even though he finished sixth out of 166 applicants on standardized tests and oral exams during the last hiring cycle.

Police officials said incidents uncovered in a routine background check disqualified Burton, but they declined to elaborate. Burton said those incidents included alleged charges of sexual harassment.

In the other case, Roosevelt Matthews, a 13-year veteran of the Hawthorne department, filed a complaint with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing, claiming he was harassed by a white supervisor. When he complained, he said, critical letters from his supervisors were placed in his personnel file.

Police officials would not comment on the specifics of the complaint but said they have responded to the charges and are confident they will prevail in both cases.

In addition, in 1987 then-Sgt. Don Jackson charged that officers used racial slurs when describing minorities. The city settled the case out of court, and Jackson has since left the force.

The Jackson suit spurred city officials to draft an affirmative action plan, but that plan was never presented to the council. The city manager in charge of the project is no longer working for the city.

The suit also led to sensitivity training for all officers, Chief Stephen R. Port said, and derogatory language is not tolerated.

Hawthorne personnel director Douglas K. Gates said those three complaints are the only ones the department has had in 13 years.

“I think they will find we do a good job. We try to recruit from all different minorities,” Port said.

But critics say the small number of African Americans on the force points to a discriminatory pattern.

“The disparity in the numbers,” coupled with the pending complaints, shows discrimination, said Lionel Broussard, a key player in racial discrimination suits filed against Centinela Valley Union High School District last year.

The Justice Department found “a racially hostile environment” at the district, which includes Hawthorne schools. The district later paid more than $500,000 to black administrators.

City officials say that they are trying to hire more minorities but that there is no connection between low numbers of African Americans on the force and racial discrimination.

Officials are updating the affirmative action plan with new census data and will send it to the City Council in the coming months, Gates said. The force now includes three African Americans, five Asians, 10 Latinos and 72 whites. Of eight recently hired officers who are still on probation, four are minorities, including two African Americans, an Asian and a Latino.