Council Weighs Pay Equity for Key Civilian Police Officials

In yet another signal of the importance the City Council attaches to effective civilian oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department, lawmakers are considering raising the salary of the inspector general to equal that of the Police Commission’s executive director.

Council members are increasingly seeking ways to reassure a skeptical public that the department has adequate civilian oversight, particularly as the LAPD investigates an unfolding corruption scandal at the Rampart police station.

That investigation has so far included allegations of improper shootings, beatings, drug dealing by officers, witness intimidation and planting of evidence, among other things. More than a dozen officers have been relieved of duty in connection with the scandal; officials believe that more officers will be involved.

Chief Bernard C. Parks, who convened a board of inquiry to examine the departmentwide implications of the scandal, asked a council panel Friday for permission to boost the number of supervisors to better oversee officers on patrol.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have taken several steps recently to increase the independence of the inspector general’s office, considered the department’s watchdog on disciplinary and other matters.

Because both positions--the inspector general and the staff director--report independently to the Police Commission, council members believe their pay should be at least equal as well.

The move has an interesting political subtext in that the new inspector general, former federal prosecutor Jeffery Eglash, is widely respected for his independence, while Joe Gunn, a former aide to Mayor Richard Riordan, is regarded as a friend and ally of Parks.

When the commission hired Gunn, it promised him a higher salary that required council approval. As rationale for that salary, Gunn and others said that he supervised the inspector general who, at the time, was making more money.

Since then, however, the inspector general’s position has been redefined largely at the behest of the civilian commission. Eglash reports directly to the commission, which in turn oversees the department.

Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, who called for the inspector general’s salary increase, says the pay differential is important because society places value on a job, rightly or wrongly, based on the money it pays.

Without the pay raise, she said, “it’s like saying the inspector general isn’t nearly as important to the city as an executive director.”

Moreover, she said, “In my personal opinion, [the inspector general’s salary] should be higher than the executive director. That’s not to say the executive director isn’t important. . . . It’s that an independent inspector general is still more important.”

The salary increase, which must be approved by the City Council, would increase Eglash’s current pay of nearly $105,000 to the level of Gunn’s $120,143.

Gunn says that he sees no problem with the pay raise, particularly because he does not oversee the inspector general. “I don’t see any conflict at all,” Gunn said. “I think they have a good guy there.”

Eglash said the pay proposal “reflects the change in the reporting relationship.”

The council has moved recently to boost the integrity of the inspector general’s office. Lawmakers sought reassurances recently that Eglash would receive unfettered access to all department internal documents despite the chief’s concerns over the confidentiality of certain records. Council members also were worried that Eglash would be limited in the types of investigations he could conduct but those concerns have largely been eased by numerous opinions from the city attorney’s office.

These issues and others have led to some friction between the council and the chief. While lawmakers say that they have confidence in the Police Commission, they appear more concerned about whether Parks truly welcomes the oversight.

The chief has said, however, that his concerns about the inspector general are based on legal mandates and that he is merely protecting the department.

Moreover, Parks asked a council panel Friday for permission to promote half a dozen officers to increase the number of supervisors on patrol. LAPD officials said there is a strong feeling among members of the board of inquiry convened in the wake of the Rampart scandal that more supervisors are needed in the field. A decision on that could come in a couple weeks.

The council’s Budget and Finance Committee also discussed the department’s hiring and recruiting problems. Applications have dropped by half, and the city’s federal grant to hire additional police officers could be jeopardized.

The department has 9,517 officers but it must maintain a level of 9,771 before it receives the federal funds to hire an additional 127 officers.

The hiring decline can be seen most dramatically at the Police Academy where, officials said, 25 recruits were being trained last month. The department is seeking about 80 in a class.