Compton Mayor Lunges at Political Rival After Meeting

Screaming threats and obscenities, the mayor of Compton had to be physically restrained by friends and Compton police after he lunged repeatedly at a political rival outside the City Council chambers Tuesday evening.

Mayor Omar Bradley alleged that deputy district attorney and announced mayoral candidate Eric Perrodin had made a threatening gesture to him as the mayor sat on the City Council dais discussing the city’s budget.

As Perrodin and others left the meeting after it adjourned for the evening, Bradley screamed at him to turn around. The mayor followed Perrodin across a plaza, down a flight of steps and onto the sidewalk, demanding that Perrodin remove his jacket and face him.

As city employees and Compton residents gaped and scrambled to get out of the way, the mayor twice broke away from the arms that restrained him and lunged for Perrodin.

Bradley’s associates pulled him up the stairs and back to City Hall, where he summoned the police chief and filed a report alleging that Perrodin had threatened him.

Perrodin, a Compton police officer from 1983 to 1995, went to police headquarters down the street and filed his own report.

Perrodin has declared that he will run against Bradley for mayor next April. That decision was made after Bradley fired Perrodin’s brother, Percy, who was Compton’s police chief until last summer.

A few minutes before Bradley chased Perrodin on Tuesday, the mayor and City Council members had declared the meeting the beginning of an era of peace and healing after a politically tumultuous period in the city.

Father Stan Bosch, a Roman Catholic priest who leads two largely Latino parishes in Compton, has been bringing his flock to City Council meetings to protest the council’s proposal to disband the Compton Police Department and contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The situation became increasingly hostile, and Bradley even took the unusual step of asking the archdiocese to tell Bosch to stay away from City Hall. The archdiocese refused.

The mayor also charged that Bosch was inciting racial conflict in the ethnically shifting city by bringing a crowd of mostly Latinos to demonstrate against the all-black City Council.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Bosch, who has at times worked with Perrodin in organizing demonstrations, asked the mayor and City Council members to band with him to achieve peace in Compton. The Rev. Jerome Fisher, a prominent African American minister in the city, pledged to help.

“Your compassion and sincerity is deeply appreciated,” Bradley said to Bosch.

As the audience applauded, the mayor, City Council members and the clergymen exchanged handshakes.

But a short time later, Bradley became incensed because he alleged that Perrodin, who had been seated near Bosch for most of the meeting, had drawn his finger across his throat in a threatening gesture as Perrodin got up to leave.

Digressing from his comments about the city’s finances, the mayor publicly charged Perrodin with threatening his reputation, his family and his life.

Perrodin denied threatening anyone or making any gestures.

The mayor told Bosch that he had been reluctant to work with him to resolve issues because he believed the priest was in league with Perrodin.

“I couldn’t help but think you were trying to destroy me,” he said to Bosch.

“I cannot extend my hand to a viper. . . . If I seem unchristian, please forgive me.”

Frank Wheaton, the city spokesman, said that Bradley would seek a restraining order against Perrodin that could keep him the mayoral candidate from attending council meetings.

“I am so sad,” Bosch said. “We’re working so hard to do conciliatory gestures. Where do people who want peace go from here?”