Parks’ Bid for Ballot Measure Is Criticized

In what police union leaders characterized Wednesday as an “end run” around two charter reform commissions, Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks is trying to persuade City Council members to let him go directly to voters this fall for approval of sweeping changes in the LAPD’s disciplinary system.

“He’s trying to make a preemptive strike on the whole process,” said Dave Hepburn, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. “He’s trying to get what he wants without having to deal with the charter commissions.”

Top LAPD brass disagree. “I think they’re mistaken,” Deputy Chief Gregory Berg said of Hepburn’s remarks. “We want to get things moving. We don’t want to wait another year.”

Charter commissioners, meanwhile, said they were unaware of Parks’ plan and questioned why the chief was trying to press the matter before the two commissions had an opportunity to review his proposals.

“It doesn’t make sense to change the charter in November when it might be replaced next April or June,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, chairman of the Elected Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission. “Why not let the existing process run its course?”

Parks, who has submitted similar proposals to the two charter commissions, is expected to meet in closed session today with the city’s Executive Employee Relations Committee to ask that his discipline proposals be placed on the November ballot. If that committee agrees, Parks then would have to persuade City Council members to put the matter before the voters. The deadline for city ballot proposals is Wednesday.

“If the council buys off on this, it will be another kick in the face to the rank and file,” Hepburn said.

According to documents obtained by The Times, the chief is seeking 17 changes in the city’s charter on discipline. They range from shifting the financial burden of defending officers accused of off-duty misconduct away from the department and onto the union, to giving LAPD managers more control over officers’ defense representatives.

Confidential documents also show that Parks wants voters to give him the power to exempt top jobs in the LAPD from Civil Service protections, meaning that his deputies would serve at his pleasure and could be removed at his discretion. The proposal--which Parks also has submitted to the charter commissions--would give the chief tremendous authority to shape his top command staff and hold deputy chiefs more accountable for the work they do. Such a change could conceivably enable the chief to reach outside the LAPD to fill top jobs.

Parks’ proposals on charter reform have escalated his already adversarial relationship with the union that represents more than 9,500 officers. The chief’s supporters say that he wants more flexibility in running the department, while critics accuse him of being power hungry.

In his first year as chief, Parks, known as a strict disciplinarian, has shown his willingness to punish officers who misbehave. He has fired dozens so far this year, already surpassing the total number of terminations in previous years.

Hepburn said Parks is seeking to go straight to the voters because he fears that his positions will be rebuked when the two charter commissions debate the matter.

Dennis Zine, a union director and member of the elected charter commission, said Parks is “disregarding the process.” He added that Parks may be trying to cash in on the goodwill that City Council members expressed toward him after they voted him into office last August.

“Maybe he feels the honeymoon window is coming to a conclusion,” Zine said.

Other charter commissioners seemed taken aback by Parks’ back-room maneuvers with City Council members.

“I hope he would first take his issues to the charter commission before some other course of action,” said George David Kieffer, chairman of the appointed charter commission.

In many ways, however, Parks has little to lose by asking the voters to change the charter in November. Whether or not he is successful in getting his proposals on the ballot and approved by the voters, the two charter commissions still will consider and possibly incorporate his suggestions for their documents, which they hope to place before voters next year.

Additionally, any changes to the charter made in November would remain in place until voters approved the charter commissions’ work, which still is far from certain.