What a Difference a Chief Makes

Police discipline remains a sensitive subject in Los Angeles because of a history, too recent to forget, of racial and gender harassment inside and outside the department, citizen complaints routinely dismissed and inadequate punishment for excessive use of force. This history should not be ignored, despite recent improvements, when the charter commissions address police reform. Any changes to the city charter should hold the Los Angeles Police Department accountable to the public, no matter who holds the job of police chief.

The current chief, Bernard Parks, believes in tough action against errant officers, in contrast to his two predecessors. He believes the LAPD “disciplines too many and fires too few,” and he has terminated a record number of officers during his first 10 months on the job. We think his focus is proper, but he won’t be chief forever.

Parks’ zero tolerance for police misconduct has frightened the police union into pushing for more citizen involvement in the punishment process. What a difference a chief makes. The police union long objected to placing a civilian on the LAPD boards of rights, which adjudicate serious misconduct complaints and consist of two high-ranking officers and one civilian. The civilian presence was added in 1992 by a post-Christopher Commission voter initiative.

In a reversal of its original position, the Police Protective League now wants more civilian review, having found out what almost every city with a citizen review board has documented: Most of the time citizens favor the cops, while police commanders hold officers to a higher standard. One idea that police union leaders have floated is to allow cops disciplined by the chief to appeal to the Civil Service Commission. Another is to switch the composition of the rights boards to two civilians and one police commander.

There’s no doubt that ultimate civilian oversight of law enforcement is needed in a democracy, whether through rights boards that include civilians or a police commission appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council. But the union’s attempt to diminish the professional viewpoint of fellow officers is a transparent bid to get around this chief’s demands for high performance and accountability.