2 Police Commissioners Oppose Homecoming Party for Powell

Leaders of the Los Angeles Police Commission on Friday voiced their opposition to a planned party in honor of former LAPD Officer Laurence M. Powell, who was convicted of violating Rodney G. King’s civil rights and is scheduled to be released from a halfway house next month.

Although Powell’s release is imminent, the former officer, who served a federal prison sentence for his role in the infamous beating, could be imprisoned again if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds a decision by a federal appellate court to impose a longer sentence than the 30-month term imposed by the trial judge. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case in January.

Supporters of Powell have scheduled a party to celebrate his release and plan to hold it at the Los Angeles Police Academy. Although the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club--the group sponsoring the party--is private and public money will not support the function, two members of the Police Commission said the site of the event would send a bad message to the Police Department.

“While we acknowledge the right of the [club] as a private entity to host this event, to do so at the very facility where we train new recruits sends an inappropriate message to the citizens of Los Angeles,” Commission President Deirdre Hill and Vice President Art Mattox wrote in a letter to the group. “The morale of our officers and the image of this department have already been seriously damaged.”