Panel Reaffirms Broad Powers for Police Watchdog

Stung by criticism that Los Angeles Police Commission President Edith Perez had restricted the authority of the LAPD’s civilian watchdog, the panel’s members Thursday released a statement clarifying their support for an inspector general with broad powers to oversee police discipline.

Backing away from a memo signed by Perez and addressed to Chief Bernard C. Parks that limited the inspector general’s review of misconduct complaints to “adjudicated” cases, commissioners said the position “is authorized to have complete and unrestricted access to all LAPD records.”

“The ability of the inspector general to have broad access to department records [including pre-adjudication disciplinary cases] is essential to the effective function of that office,” the statement said. Commissioners said that Perez’s Sept. 22 memo was misinterpreted and that neither she nor other board members intended to reduce their watchdog’s authority.

Although the memo was signed only by Perez, commissioners said they supported the “intent” of her document, which was to help Inspector General Katherine Mader gain access to LAPD information.

As written, however, the memo appeared to sharply diminish Mader’s powers, several police reform experts said. Moreover, they said that limiting Mader’s access to “adjudicated” complaints was a departure from recommendations in the 1991 Christopher Commission report, which proposed police reforms after the beating of Rodney G. King.

The memo also seemed to define Mader’s authorities more narrowly than were approved by voters in April 1995 and reaffirmed during a public vote of the Police Commission in September 1996.

Last week, a majority of the board members agreed that Perez’s memo could be misconstrued as overly restrictive and needed to be fixed. On Thursday, they said they stand by the board’s 1996 description of the inspector general’s powers.

The controversy over Perez’s memo escalated in recent days with the mayor demanding an explanation from Perez and a city councilwoman asking for a special hearing on the matter.

“I am very pleased that a consensus has been reached and any misperceptions have been clarified,” said Councilwoman Laura Chick, who chairs the City Council’s Public Safety Committee and had asked for the special hearing. “It’s seemed to me that the initial memo was limiting her and making a change. This appears to correct that.”

Chick said she still wants a special hearing to determine whether the inspector general’s position is operating as envisioned by the Christopher Commission.

Deputy Mayor Noelia Rodriguez said Mayor Richard Riordan has not had an opportunity to review the commission’s statement, but “he is hopeful that the [commission’s] explanation resolves the questions he had earlier this week.”

The contents of the memo were disclosed in articles by The Times. The commission’s statement Thursday was addressed to The Times’ editor and complains that the articles “failed to accurately reflect the nature” of Perez’s memo.

Perez has not returned calls for comment. Mader repeatedly has declined comment.

Perez’s memo to Parks underwent several drafts before it was finalized. In fact, one week before the final memo, a draft, which was apparently reviewed by the chief, did not limit Mader’s access to “adjudicated” complaints. Several commissioners, as well as Commission Executive Director Joe Gunn--who said he wrote the memo for Perez--were at a loss to explain how or why the word “adjudicated” had been inserted into the final memo.

Commissioner Gerald L. Chaleff, who was out of town on vacation, was the only board member who did not sign the commission’s statement. Last week, Chaleff asked that a public discussion be held on Perez’s memo to clarify the board’s position. No such meeting has been held.

Instead, the commissioners discussed that matter in closed session earlier this week.