Council Urges Diversity in Rampart Review

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday passed a resolution urging the Police Commission to alter the composition of its Rampart review panel to better reflect the city’s diversity.

The lawmakers are concerned that the panel, which will conduct an independent review of the police corruption scandal, includes too many white, male attorneys. They voted 10 to 1 to urge the commission to quickly expand the group with people from a variety of ethnic and occupational backgrounds.

“Until you bring enough people to the table with a variety of life experiences, you are not going to get a true picture of what needs to be done,” said Councilman Joel Wachs. “Although I think there are some extraordinary people who have been appointed [to the panel], it does not go far enough to bring us to where we need to be.”

After hearing similar complaints from the NAACP last week, commission officials said they were taking steps to include more members of minority groups on the panel, which is probing the worst police scandal in city history.

As originally formed, the group of 26 volunteers--almost all of them lawyers--included three African Americans, three Latinos and no Asians. There are four women.

“The commission is expanding the membership of the Rampart Independent Review Panel,” said Gerald L. Chaleff, commission president. “The ultimate composition of the panel will represent the diversity of the city.”

For weeks, the council has been at odds over whether to allow the commission and its volunteer panel to investigate the Rampart situation or to form an outside independent group to look into the problems. Although the majority of the council has voted on at least three occasions to support the commission, a number of members remain skeptical.

Councilwoman Rita Walters, who introduced the resolution Tuesday, said she was “horrified” at the number of white, male attorneys on the panel.

“The problems they are addressing are primarily the problems in the Latino community, and we just ignored the people of color,” Walters said.

Councilman Hal Bernson, however, urged his colleagues to allow the commission to pick its own panel. He cast the only vote against Walters’ resolution. “We said before that we supported the commission,” Bernson said. “Let them do their job.”

Councilman Nate Holden scoffed at Bernson’s comment.

“I voted to let the commission do its job and this is the job the commission has done,” Holden said. “I’m very disappointed they didn’t show any diversity in their selection process. We don’t want to give the impression that this is going to be a whitewash.”