Parks Criticizes Plan to Alter Discipline Panels

Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks on Thursday criticized a City Charter reform proposal to revamp who sits on LAPD disciplinary panels, saying it would “significantly undermine police accountability.”

Parks said he opposes a recommendation--approved this week by the city’s elected charter commission--that would replace one command officer from the three-member disciplinary boards with a “peer officer” who would come from the ranks of lieutenant or supervising detectives and sergeants.

Now, the panels are made up of two officers from the rank of captain or above and one civilian.

“I’m disappointed that the elected charter commission chose to radically alter the composition of the board of rights,” Parks said through a spokesman.

Parks and members of his top command staff said that removing a command officer from the panel would dramatically water down management’s ability to effectively hold officers responsible for misconduct.

Supporters of the panel reconfiguration--including police union leaders--say that adding a peer officer would make the proceedings fairer and less susceptible to pressure from the chief.

Dave Hepburn, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, has charged that Parks improperly “meddles” in what are supposed to be independent and impartial hearings. He said some command officers have complained that they feel under pressure from the chief to hand down overly stiff punishments.

Parks, known as a strict disciplinarian, has denied that he exerts undue influence during the process. Moreover, Parks’ supporters point out that the civilian Police Commission evaluates the chief, at least in part, on how discipline is administered under his leadership. He is entitled, they say, to hold his top officers accountable for how they mete out discipline.

Over the course of several charter reform meetings, a number of police reformers, including some who worked closely with the 1991 Christopher Commission, have backed the chief and spoken against any changes to the disciplinary system.

Officials with the Protective League have sought to use the charter reform process as a way to change the manner in which officers are disciplined. Several months ago, they supported a proposal that would have created a civilian appeal board to review the chief’s discipline decisions. That effort failed.

Labor interests are well represented on the elected charter commission, which has been sympathetic to the police union’s concerns. In fact, one member of the commission also is a director of the Protective League. That director, Dennis Zine, is now facing departmental discipline.

The elected charter commission approved the discipline panel reconfiguration Monday on an 8-5 vote. The appointed charter commission is scheduled to discuss the elected commission’s recommendation next week. However, the chairman of the appointed charter commission said his panel is “disinclined” to support a change in the disciplinary panel membership.

The elected charter’s recommendation also is slated to be discussed by a special joint committee of the elected and appointed commissions, which is working on drafting a unified charter reform proposal.