Mayor Taps Lawyer for Police Panel

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan on Wednesday announced his choice of corporate attorney T. Warren Jackson to fill a vacancy on the pivotal Police Commission.

If confirmed by the City Council, the mayor’s appointment of Jackson--one of Riordan’s Civil Service commissioners since September 1994--will ensure that the city’s African American community continues to have a voice on the five-member civilian panel that oversees the LAPD during a watershed period in its long and sometimes controversial history.

Jackson, 43, would replace Deirdre Hill, the commission’s president and only black member, whose resignation to work on behalf of Democratic candidates takes effect today. Commission Vice President Art Mattox will serve as president until the panel chooses a new leader this summer.

The LAPD, simultaneously undergoing reform, expansion and diversification efforts, has had often-troubled relations with the city’s minorities, particularly blacks.

Jackson served as deputy general counsel to the Webster Commission, which reviewed the department’s performance during the 1992 riots.

“Warren Jackson will add another strong voice to the talented group of citizens responsible for overseeing the LAPD,” Riordan said during a news conference attended by Jackson, his wife, Jacqueline Phillips-Jackson, and their three young children. “His work on the Webster Commission was outstanding.”

Jackson, who specializes in employment law and is assistant general counsel for Hughes Electronics Co., declined to offer opinions about the department or its embattled chief, Willie L. Williams. The commission in coming months will consider whether to give Williams, an African American hired to reform the department, another five-year term.

“I come to this job with no agenda, no preconceived notions,” said Jackson, wearing on his lapel one of the blue-ribbon pins that show support for the department. He said his work on the Webster Commission provided him with a “snapshot of a particular event” and does not form a basis for his views of the department overall.

“I look forward to this challenge. . . . I’m proud I was selected,” Jackson said. Noting that his late father was an officer on the Philadelphia force, Jackson said he has “a respect and an affection for police officers.”

Immediate reaction from two key council members was generally positive but guarded. Laura Chick, chairwoman of the council’s Public Safety Committee, and Nate Holden, one of its three members, said they knew little about Jackson. Both said it was important that the panel continues to have an African American representative, but wanted to reserve judgment until learning more about Jackson.

Cmdr. Tim McBride, an LAPD spokesman, said the department is “looking forward to working with” Jackson, adding that he “has a good reputation.”