Council to Discuss Williams’ $10-Million Claim Against City
The Los Angeles City Council will meet in closed session Friday to discuss the $10-million claim against the city by embattled Police Chief Willie L. Williams.
Meanwhile, Councilman Joel Wachs received an outpouring of support for his statement Tuesday that Williams should either drop the claim for invasion of privacy and defamation or step down as the city’s top officer.
“At the supermarket today, at the yogurt shop, at an art gallery, people have been coming up to me,” Wachs said. “I’ve been amazed at how overwhelming that opinion has been that he should either drop the lawsuit or go. They all say the same thing: ‘You should focus your attention on making this city safe and not this kind of battling.’ ”
In Williams’ claim--the official precursor to a lawsuit--he contends that his rights were violated when documents from his personnel file regarding a Police Commission probe into whether he accepted free rooms in Las Vegas and then lied about it were leaked to The Times.
By day’s end, Wachs had received 37 telephone messages praising him for being the first council member to speak out against Williams filing the claim, with four people criticizing the ultimatum.
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