Council Panel to Track LAPD Consent Decree Compliance

Moving to ensure that the city finally fulfills its pledge to reform the Los Angeles Police Department, the City Council on Wednesday agreed to form an ad hoc committee to track the implementation of a lengthy list of fixes outlined in a consent decree currently being finalized in talks with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Although the council in the past was content to rely on the Police Commission to monitor the department’s progress, lawmakers say now they must actively guarantee that the latest reforms are not sidetracked, as were so many others recommended by the Christopher Commission.

“The wheels of reform grind exceedingly slow, and unless constantly pushed I believe Los Angeles runs the risk of having reform come to a screeching halt,” said Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who introduced the motion. “The committee’s job is to keep the fire lit.”

The group will include the three members of the council’s Public Safety Committee--Cindy Miscikowski, Nick Pacheco and Joel Wachs--and at least two additional lawmakers.

“If there is going to be a consent decree, there ought to be oversight so we don’t end up in a situation where we have to go back to court and say that we were asleep at the switch,” said Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg. “It’s just a good method of making sure the commitments the city makes are kept.”

City lawyers expect that the council will be asked to ratify the consent decree with the Justice Department by the end of next week. The two sides finished face-to-face negotiations on a number of previously unresolved items last week and are finishing up details via fax machine.

The Justice Department alleges that the LAPD has engaged in a pattern or practice of violating suspects’ civil rights. Washington has made it clear that it will sue the city unless a decree is filed in federal court and overseen by an independent monitor.

The agreement includes a lengthy list of reforms, ranging from bolstering the Police Commission to collecting data to determine the extent of “racial profiling” practiced by the Police Department.

The document’s complexity--along with the fact that the city has failed to adequately implement past reforms--justifies the creation of a committee to handle issues outside the scope of the council’s Public Safety Committee, council members said.

Under the Ridley-Thomas proposal, the committee will monitor the Police Department’s compliance with the consent decree and will implement recommendations made in the wake of investigations dating back to the Christopher Commission, which was formed after the Rodney G. King beating incident.

The council--voting 13 to 1--also agreed to compile a list of critical information and recommendations contained in various reports on the LAPD since 1992.

Nate Holden cast the only vote against the motion, asking his colleagues, “How much more are we gonna harass these police officers?”

“You’ve got the Justice Department and all other kinds of civilian groups studying the Police Department,” Holden said.

He said the city should be focusing instead on how to repress crime, “not on how to repress the Police Department.”

But mayoral candidate Wachs took Holden to task, insisting that police reform should not be viewed as anti-police.

“The only way we are going to have an effective Police Department is if we have reform,” Wachs said. “I don’t see why you feel that somehow or other reform of wrongdoing is in opposition to public safety.”

Referring to the Rampart scandal, Wachs added: “A terrible thing happened in our city. People want to make sure it never happens again and they want to make sure that the police can do their jobs. We must and can do both.”