Concerns Voiced Over Officer’s Fund-Raising

The goal seemed simple enough: new uniforms for the girls basketball team.

But when Keith Cooper started to tackle the project, he drew scrutiny for the delicate balance between his job as a police juvenile detective and his volunteer work as head coach of the girls team at the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies. The situation also spotlighted the dearth of funds available for activities at the school, which consists entirely of magnet programs and does not have the big-time athletics--and therefore the financial base--of other schools.

Cooper, who earned raves for turning a perennial loser into a 12-3 playoff team in one year of volunteer coaching, insists he just wanted to find replacements for the faded boys’ hand-me-downs worn by the Knights. Far from its being a conflict, he felt the project fit the widely practiced concept of community policing.

“All I was trying to do was make a positive impression of the school,” Cooper said.

Some Los Angeles Police Department officials, though, were concerned that Cooper would create the appearance of using his badge to raise money. Parent and booster club president Cari Teeter also complained that Cooper shortchanged the school’s fund-raising capabilities, targeting the outside community instead.

“It was something he wanted to do, and he thought he had an opening,” said John White, assistant principal in charge of athletics. “He came to me and asked me about doing it and I told him, ‘Great, Keith. Whatever you can do to help.’ And now it’s being all blown out of proportion.”

Now, Teeter and Cooper have settled their differences. Cooper is scheduled to meet Monday with the booster club, and a club-sponsored back-to-school picnic will help raise money for the uniforms.

Det. Tony Foti, Cooper’s boss, said Cooper has maintained a professional approach to the situation, refusing a stipend from the school and confining his coaching to off-duty hours.

“Community policing is about becoming problem solvers rather than problem makers,” Foti said. “Maybe he didn’t do it the right way, but that’s how you learn. Sometimes you make mistakes.”