City, U.S. Begin Talks on LAPD Reform

Representatives of Los Angeles and the U.S. Justice Department held their initial negotiating session over the future of the Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday, and participants described it as a relatively matter-of-fact meeting that laid the groundwork for a more serious negotiation in the next two weeks.

According to sources and participants, the federal representatives did not come to the meeting with a specific list of proposals addressing their contention that the LAPD has exhibited a pattern or practice of corruption and civil rights violations. The federal officials are expected to detail at least part of their blueprint for reform at the next meeting, however, which participants said will occur soon, probably by the end of the month.

City Atty. James Hahn, who has been tapped as the lead negotiator for the city, said after Wednesday’s meeting that city officials urged the Justice Department to avoid proposals that might have the effect of undermining Los Angeles’ existing system for civilian oversight of the LAPD.

“I said that I’m very much interested in continuing to strengthen the Police Commission and the inspector general,” Hahn said. “They made clear that they didn’t want to do anything to undermine civilian oversight of LAPD. That’s a goal we both share.”

Despite the congenial tone of Wednesday’s session, the talks quickly were tangled in a City Hall rumor that Justice Department officials were not serious about their threat to sue the city in the event that the talks do not produce a satisfactory agreement. One version of that rumor suggested that the Justice Department was yielding to pressure from the White House on behalf of Mayor Richard Riordan. Those reports were adamantly and publicly denied by both Justice Department officials and the mayor’s spokesman.

Although both sides in the talks have said they would prefer to see a deal struck rather than end up in court, the Justice Department remains prepared to file a lawsuit if the negotiations falter, officials said.

The substantive reforms that the Justice Department may demand to avoid suing the city and its police force represent one potential area for disagreement, between local officials and the Justice Department and also among the local officials themselves. In general, Hahn and City Council members, who are represented at the table by Chief Legislative Analyst Ron Deaton, favor more far-reaching reforms, while Riordan and Police Chief Bernard C. Parks back more limited federal involvement.

Another possible area of contention is the form of the agreement, as Riordan and Parks, whose top aides are part of the city negotiating team, would like to avoid a consent decree that places the matter under the supervision of a federal judge. Other city officials are less troubled by that prospect, and all signs so far indicate that the Justice Department is likely to insist on it.

Although those battles loom, neither the substance nor form of the proposed agreement was discussed in detail Wednesday, officials said. Perhaps as a result, participants described the session as productive and relatively free of rancor.

“I really believe that we’re going to reach a mutual understanding about the need for reform and the reforms that are needed,” Hahn said.

Meanwhile, in a sign of the negotiations’ potentially long-term impact on the future of the LAPD, the city’s police union wrote Wednesday demanding a seat of the table.

“The LAPPL has significant actual and legal interests in the terms of any negotiated settlement between DOJ and the city,” wrote Police Protective League President Ted Hunt. “Accordingly, we hereby respectfully request that the LAPPL be provided with the opportunity to be involved in any discussions between the DOJ and the city . . . that in any way varies or impacts the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.”

City Council President John Ferraro, who named the negotiating team, said he would not add the league to the talks--at least for now.

“The people I appointed to the negotiating group are officials of the city of Los Angeles,” Ferraro said. “The appropriate employee unions will no doubt become involved . . . at the proper time.”