Pay Him and Wave Goodbye

A financial settlement that deals fairly with Los Angeles Police Chief Willie L. Williams and sends him on his way before his five-year contract ends in July would be in the best interest of the city and the Police Department.

The LAPD does not need a lame-duck chief or more time to allow factions to grow around Deputy Chiefs Bernard Parks and Mark Kroeker, the top internal contenders for the job.

Now that it appears that the City Council will let stand the civilian Police Commission’s deliberative, discretionary and unanimous decision not to reappoint Williams to a second term, the council should focus on negotiating an acceptable severance package.

The city would benefit because a financial settlement would end any threat of a lawsuit. The chief’s lawyers charge that he was unfairly prejudged before the commission’s vote and that information from his confidential personnel files was improperly leaked to this newspaper and made public. A court battle would prolong this divisive controversy and prove far more expensive than a buyout.

A golden handshake for Williams also would improve the city’s ability to attract potential chiefs from outside the LAPD. If the first outsider hired since 1949 is denied a settlement, how many big-name outsiders would want the job? Outsiders should not be discouraged, although the next chief is likely to come from within the force.

Williams did what was most important when he took the job of chief in 1992: He restored public confidence in the LAPD, and at the time that was no small task. In that sense he will leave the department better off than he found it. Pay him and let him leave.