New Probe of Police Rejected

Under pressure from Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, the City Council on Tuesday resisted a second attempt to create an outside investigation into the Rampart police corruption scandal.

The council voted 8 to 3 to shelve a proposal that called on the U.S. Justice Department to head a federal, state and local task force to investigate and prosecute cases related to the scandal.

The motion, introduced by Councilman Mike Feuer, was prompted by The Times’ disclosure Tuesday that the FBI, which the Los Angeles Police Department called in for assistance last week, has been quietly involved with the Rampart Division’s anti-gang unit since the mid-1990s.

Feuer said The Times’ disclosure has cast a cloud over the FBI. But after hearing from Parks--who rushed to the council chambers when he learned of Feuer’s motion--the council signaled, yet again, that it is unwilling to ask for outside intervention.

Instead, the lawmakers decided to send Feuer’s motion to the council’s Public Safety Committee for review. Last week, the council took similar action on a motion introduced by Councilman Joel Wachs.

Parks argued--and the majority of the council agreed--that the LAPD should be allowed to complete its criminal investigation into the Rampart matter before federal authorities are called on to lead a separate inquiry.

“At best, this is premature,” the chief said. “We need to allow the system to work.”

Feuer, Wachs and Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg urged their colleagues to adopt the motion as a means of restoring public confidence.

“As Rome burns, we continue to fiddle,” Goldberg said. “The outside world is wondering what the heck we are doing in here. How can we be the last people in the city of Los Angeles who don’t get it? . . . This is a crisis of confidence.”

Feuer, who is running for city attorney, said the public’s confidence has been “shaken to the core” by reports that the FBI pressured Immigration and Naturalization Service agents to aid the LAPD’s anti-gang efforts, which included the deportation of people who were not criminals.

“There is at least a cloud, a taint, calling into question the FBI’s ability to perform their role” in helping the LAPD investigate the Rampart scandal, Feuer said. “The criminal issues need to be investigated by the highest levels possible by entities in whom the public can have complete confidence.”

Wachs, who for weeks has been urging the council to request an outside investigation, renewed his call for action.

“You have got to start asking yourself: If the FBI pressured the INS, and the FBI pressured the U.S. attorney, then who pressured the FBI?” Wachs said. “Who is going to ask those questions? Who is going to give an answer that is believable to the people? This is a crisis of the greatest magnitude. We can’t be too proud or ashamed to ask for help.”

Parks said the INS told him that the article in The Times was based on information from “anonymous, disgruntled employees.” In fact, The Times’ report contained numerous quotations attributed to INS agents by name. Parks said his department is investigating the allegations.

Councilmen Mike Hernandez and Nick Pacheco said they want to make sure LAPD officers are abiding by a city policy--called Special Order 40--that prohibits police inquiries into residents’ immigration status.

“Special rule 40 was very clear,” Hernandez said. “The Los Angeles Police Department is not the INS, and it does not collaborate with the INS. How do we reestablish that trust?”

Parks assured the council that his department would discipline officers found to have violated the policy. He added that he has launched an internal affairs investigation of the matter.

After Parks’ brief address to the council, a number of members expressed support for the chief.

“You may not trust the FBI; you may not trust the INS. There are a lot of people who don’t trust us,” said Councilman Hal Bernson. “The truth of the matter is, I trust Chief Parks. I trust that he is going to make sure that he is doing the proper investigation and the facts will be brought out.

“We may need to do this [launch an outside investigation] eventually, I don’t know,” Bernson added. “I think it’s premature.”

Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles), who is running for mayor, has joined the call for an independent inquiry.

“Despite all of the efforts of the chief and the [LAPD] Board of Inquiry, there’s going to be a cloud of doubt about any conclusions they reach, because most people don’t think an entity can investigate itself,” Villaraigosa said.

Times staff writer Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this story.