Sheriff May Take Over Policing in Compton

By JESSICA GARRISON and BETH SHUSTER

April 6, 2000 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Despite opposition from residents and its mixed record in policing heavily minority areas, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is poised to take over law enforcement services for the city of Compton.

After a marathon closed session and public comment period, the Compton City Council voted early Wednesday to begin the process of disbanding its municipal police force and paying the Sheriff’s Department to patrol its streets. The agreement would cost the city $12 million a year, making it the largest contract for the Sheriff’s Department, which provides police services to a variety of municipalities.

Sheriff Lee Baca, who spent more than seven hours at the meeting, which ended after 1 a.m., tried to allay residents’--and even some council members’--anxieties about the possible demise of their local Police Department. Aside from offering assurances that his department would provide a higher level of service for less money, he also said the department would be sensitive to racial tensions between police and the city’s mainly African American and Latino residents.

“The No. 1 issue in law enforcement in America is racist cops who have no sensitivity toward people of color,” Baca said. “I’ve been chased down . . . and spread out myself by the sheriff’s [deputies]. I know what it can do to damage a person’s self-esteem.”

In an interview, Baca promised to hand-pick deputies to patrol Compton and said that he agrees that deputies should “treat all citizens with respect.”

“We don’t want to stop a law-abiding person and treat them as though they’re a felon,” he said.

But the Sheriff’s Department has received mixed reviews from residents in some of the unincorporated southern portions of the county, who say their neighborhoods remain unsafe and that deputies are feared. Allegations have surfaced that deputies have formed internal, gang-like groups with tattoos and monikers like street gangs, and some residents in Lynwood say deputies are targeting them unfairly.

Baca, however, said he, along with other top commanders, would meet with community members in their homes to help the department offer the best services for the city. “I’m willing to sit down with anyone in the city of Compton and let them hit me over the head with a hammer,” he said.

Meanwhile, as the debate raged in City Hall, a 42-year-old woman in a Compton apartment was killed by a stray bullet.

Compton Mayor Omar Bradley said in an interview that such shootings are why the city is seeking increased police services.

“I’m going to have to see that family later today and what am I going to say?” Bradley said. “We’ve had 585 murders in the last seven years. That’s unimaginable.”

Bradley denied that the impetus for bringing in the Sheriff’s Department is political, as members of the city’s police union have charged. Tensions between the mayor and the union have flared in recent months. “Of course the cops are going to say it’s political, but they can’t answer the question of why there are 275 unsolved homicide cases right now,” Bradley said. “What does that tell the gangster: that [they] have a 50-50 chance of getting away with it?”

While he praised the city’s Police Department for doing an excellent job with the resources it has, he said he has a fiduciary and a moral obligation to pursue the Sheriff’s Department’s services.

The council agreed to pay the Sheriff’s Department $75,000 a month to assign a captain and support staff to oversee all details of the proposed contract before the council takes another vote on it.

Compton would be the Sheriff’s Department biggest contract, although there are larger cities among the 40 that pay for the department’s law enforcement services.

But Capt. John Radeleff, who oversees the Sheriff’s Department’s contract law enforcement bureau, said the department would probably provide a higher level of patrol service for Compton than elsewhere because it has a higher crime rate than other cities of comparable size. In fact, Radeleff said, the department would offer an 11% increase in police patrols over the services the city receives from its own force.

Compton, which has about 93,000 residents, would pay about $12 million year for sheriff’s services. Carson, a city of similar size but lower crime rates, pays $9.5 million.

The contract with Compton would represent a $7.7-million decrease in policing costs for the city, Radeleff said. He said the Sheriff’s Department will consider all members of the Compton police force for employment.

But residents did not appear convinced by the Sheriff’s Department or by the council members.

Echoing the concerns of many residents, Lorraine Cervantes said she has encountered racist and rude deputies in the past, and thinks the residents of Compton are better served by their small local department.

“I know Sheriff Baca. I love him. I respect him. But I don’t want him over our city,” Cervantes said.

“I can’t do anything about the past,” Baca responded. “But I can stand up to the future.”

The greatest concern for many residents, however, is that disbanding the Police Department would mean a further erosion of local control in the beleaguered city.

In 1993, the Compton was the first city in California to have its school district taken over by the state. Acting Fire Chief Frank Solelo said city officials have also explored the idea of dissolving his department and contracting with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

“This hurts the city,” said school board member Saul E. Lankster II. “Please, please, don’t give away our city.”

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Sheriff’s Contracts

Here are the cities in Los Angeles County that contract with the Sheriff’s Department for law enforcement services, and the amount each pays annually. If the Compton City Council approves, the city would be the 41st and have the largest contract with the department.

Agoura Hills: $1.9 million

Artesia: $1.5 million

Avalon: $690,000

Bellflower: $6.1 million

Bradbury: $54,000

Calabasas: $2.3 million

Carson: $8.7 million

Cerritos: $6.9 million

Commerce: $3.8 million

Cudahy: $2.0 million

Diamond Bar: $3.7 million

Duarte: $1.9 million