Stop the Petty Disputes, Pull Together for a Safe City : LAPD: Resisters to reform and leakers of personal information are diverting us from the goals of the Christopher Commission.

I left the Philadelphia Police Department and arrived in Los Angeles in the wake of the 1992 riots with a compelling mandate from troubled city leaders and an anguished community in response to the Christopher Commission report: to begin reform in the Los Angeles Police Department and restore its battered image at a time of enormous rancor and turmoil.

I am painfully aware of the difficult journey an “outsider” has when taking the helm of an organization such as the Los Angeles Police Department, with its rich history of leadership in American urban policing. While not as daunting as some might believe, it is difficult and challenging. But these challenges become opportunities for change and steppingstones to the reforms that most LAPD employees and the community desire.

It is not uncommon for outside chiefs, with a mandate to improve relations with the city’s minority community and at the same time work to create a more even playing field for all employees within the organization, to find themselves the target of resisters.

Joseph D. McNamara, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, was once an outsider in two police agencies--Kansas City and San Jose. McNamara has written that as an outsider chief in Kansas City, he soon found himself the subject of an investigation by the Police Commission on charges leveled by subordinates. After many months of investigations, the commission concluded that the charges were groundless.

Quite unexpectedly, I found myself in a protracted dispute with the city’s Police Commission over allegations that I solicited free accommodations in Las Vegas. Despite my unequivocal denials, the commission chose to reprimand me for the manner in which I responded to these charges, which have proved unfounded. I chose to exercise my only appeal directly to the City Council, and the reprimand was overturned.

As has already been made public, I did not solicit nor receive any free accommodations or special favors from any hotel in Las Vegas. Any lodgings discounts received by my family were in exchange for my family’s play on slot machines only, as part of club policy open to the general public. This was verified by the Police Commissions’ own finding of exoneration regarding my trips to Las Vegas.

Upon reflection, I recognize that I might have been able to better explain my position. I know that any allegation of untruth by a police officer is deeply troubling, but I did not mislead the commission--nor have I ever misled them. I deeply regret the uproar and concern caused by this entire episode. There was nothing to hide, nothing to gain by deception, since I voluntarily supplied the Las Vegas records and hotel bills.

Despite zealous efforts by some self-righteous individuals in high places to discredit me through news media leaks, I believe that Los Angeles residents are discerning enough to recognize a systematic smear campaign when they see one. Recent poll results indicate that from the San Fernando Valley to the Eastside to South-Central to all of Los Angeles, there remains a reservoir of goodwill, job approval and continuing confidence in my leadership ability and integrity as the city’s chief law enforcement officer.

In the aftermath of the sixth incident of improper and unauthorized disclosure of my personnel records, I was left with no option but to file a claim against the city to protect my legal rights and those of my family. City officials leaked documents and there must be accountability. It is not a matter of money, but of accountability and proof that I did nothing wrong.

Despite my reluctance to take legal action, misunderstood by some, I’m determined to put petty political bickering aside in the interest of the common good and public safety. What’s important is our collective healing. We must address recent signs of divisiveness stemming from an officer-involved shooting in Lincoln Heights and the ugly fallout from the Mark Fuhrman tapes, which have no place in the LAPD.

We will expedite the Christopher Commission reforms and continue to renew the LAPD’s motto: “To protect and to serve.” We must all maximize our efforts to reduce the climate of fear from gangs and gang violence that permeates many of our neighborhoods and to restore a level of civility in our public debate.

The killing of a 3-year-old girl last week in the Cypress Park area has outraged all of us. But tragic as it is, this senseless slaying is one of many similar child killings that have occurred throughout our city. Crime will not be tolerated by the Los Angeles Police Department. Neither will unsolved murders, regardless of who the victim may be. Now is the time for us to move on and work together to make Los Angeles a safe place for all of us.