Renew the Commitment

Last month, it appeared as though the city’s top elected and appointed officials were only days away from a formal agreement on federal monitoring of the Los Angeles Police Department by the U.S. Department of Justice. Now, with the city’s negotiating team still wrangling over details, it’s a good time to remind City Hall to stay focused on its commitment to police reform.

A federal consent decree is necessary because of the Rampart Division police corruption scandal and its allegations that LAPD officers lied under oath, falsified reports, planted evidence and in some cases shot unarmed suspects. About 100 criminal cases have been dropped or convictions overturned since the scandal broke more than a year ago. Five officers have been charged with crimes ranging from planting weapons to attempted murder.

Two key problems still jeopardize police reform: political timing and police union obstinacy. When the city’s four-member negotiating team failed to present an agreement to the council for a formal vote this week, the council vote was delayed. Since Mayor Richard Riordan will have 10 days in which to decide whether to veto the consent decree, he can now wait until after the Nov. 7 presidential election.

A victory by Republican nominee George W. Bush would probably cause a sea change in the Justice Department’s aggressive push for federal civil rights reforms because Bush generally does not favor consent decrees. A victory by Vice President Al Gore figures to mean a continuation of the federal stance that launched an investigation four years ago into alleged civil rights violations by the LAPD.

If there is a Bush victory, Riordan, who has repeatedly indicated his dissatisfaction with federal oversight, might then believe he had the leverage to veto the deal. A majority of the 15-member council is expected to formally ratify the consent decree, but 10 votes would be required to override a Riordan veto. The council needs to make it clear to Riordan that it will approve the decree, and override a veto, no matter who wins Nov. 7.

There’s another issue over which Riordan and the council have far less control: police union demands. The police union, which already has filed a lawsuit to block the decree, could drag the process out even longer; some of the issues that the union is raising, such as the officers’ work environment and schedules, are not germane to the reform goal of the consent decree.

The city’s negotiating team--made up of City Atty. James Hahn, Police Commission President Gerald L. Chaleff, Chief Legislative Analyst Ron Deaton and Deputy Mayor Kelly Martin--certainly has the ability to finish up the consent decree, assuming that its members have the will to do so.

Just last month, after the council voted to accept the concept of a consent decree, Martin said, “There is a lot of really positive reform in this agreement. This will go a long way to restoring public confidence.” Well said. The police union officials should hear that too. There’s no need to wait any longer for that positive reform and the restoration of public confidence.