Panel Backs Strong Role for Police Watchdog

Addressing criticism that they had undermined the authority of their civilian watchdog, Los Angeles police commissioners on Thursday formally affirmed their support for a strong and independent inspector general.

In a unanimous vote, the commission declared that the inspector general has complete and unrestricted access to all LAPD information, has the power to subpoena witnesses and reports directly to the commission.

“Hopefully the result of this will be that there is no confusion as to the board’s view of the role and powers of the inspector general,” said Commissioner Gerald L. Chaleff.

However, the commission stopped short of endorsing City Council proposals that, among other things, would give the inspector general the authority to initiate investigations and to release those findings unedited.

Those proposals were denounced as extreme by Chief Bernard C. Parks in a letter to City Council members last week. Parks, who was on vacation Thursday, also rejected the idea of giving the inspector general unfettered access to department information, which his five-civilian bosses embraced.

The commission’s action essentially reaffirms the powers that had been spelled out for the inspector general in 1996 under then-Commission President Raymond C. Fisher, now a top official in the U.S. Justice Department.

For many police reformers, a strong inspector general is one of the most powerful tools for carrying out effective civilian oversight. The position was first proposed by the 1991 Christopher Commission, which investigated police abuse following the beating of Rodney G. King.

In recent weeks, Inspector General Katherine Mader has publicly accused the current commission of undermining her authority as defined by the Fisher panel. An indication of the erosion of her powers seemed evident in a Sept. 22 memo that Commission President Edith Perez sent to Parks, limiting the inspector general’s review of complaint information only to “adjudicated complaints.”

The controversy over the inspector general’s position escalated last month when Mader--the only person who has ever held the position--resigned under pressure. The commission’s executive director, Joseph A. Gunn, said Mader’s work was substandard and that the panel was probably going to fire her.

With the pressure on Mader mounting, Gunn had been telling city officials and others for months that he was Mader’s boss and that the charter--as currently written--required that she report directly to him.

The commission’s action Thursday sought to clarify that the inspector general reports directly to the board, not the executive director. They said their action “supersedes all previous directives or board action on the rights of the inspector general.”

The reporting issue was a deep concern for many police reformers and city leaders.

Earlier this week, Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg displayed a letter from Gunn to a sergeant who had complained about a public comment by Parks. Stating that the inspector general works under his direction, Gunn wrote: “Your complaint does not justify an investigation by our office. Accordingly, I am forwarding you letter to the chief of police for his review and / or action.”

Commission sources said Gunn’s involvement, if not stopped, could have a chilling effect on the willingness of people to come to the inspector general with a complaint. The City Council, at the urging of Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, ordered the Police Commission to investigate the Gunn letter and report back to council next month.

The current commission’s document, like the one in 1996, states that the inspector general can protect the identities of complainants unless disclosure of such information is “unavoidable in order to effectively investigate an allegation or is otherwise required by law or the city attorney’s office.”

Mader, who will step down on Jan. 1, declined to comment on the commission’s affirmation of her powers. Attorney and former Police Commissioner Deirdre Hill, who has been selected as the interim inspector general, also declined to discuss the matter.

In a related matter, commissioners met in closed session and settled on a list of community members they will ask to sit on a blue-ribbon panel to help select the next permanent inspector general. The names of the panelists are to be released next month.