Parks Drops His Opposition, Commits LAPD to Decree

Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks said Wednesday that he will “diligently implement” police reforms dictated by a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice, ending his vocal resistance to the legally binding agreement.

The bulk of the settlement was approved by the City Council Tuesday. It is aimed at rooting out police corruption and ending the LAPD’s “pattern or practice” of infringing civil rights.

Parks acknowledged that the LAPD command had been wary of the decree, but said it will implement the reforms when they finally are ratified, which is likely to be next week.

“If you had been at our staff meeting, you would have heard ‘woe is me’ for the last time,” Parks said. “We are now committed. We are not going to drag our feet,” he told reporters gathered at LAPD headquarters downtown.

Parks, however, also said the department is already taking most of the steps called for in the decree. “Roughly 60% of it, we are already doing,” he said.

Council members said they were pleased by the chief’s public acceptance of the consent decree, but some said they are apprehensive that the LAPD still will try to resist the reforms behind the scenes.

“They have a history of resistance, stubbornness and excuses,” said one city official. “And it is not clear to me that the department has really made up its mind to do this. In many ways they view this as an indictment.”

Councilman Mike Feuer, however, said he believes the police department--as well as the city--has no choice but to make a firm commitment to comply with the agreement, which will be filed in federal court and overseen by an independent monitor.

“Because of the scrutiny we are under, we must make the reforms,” said Feuer, a candidate for city attorney. “That is not to say that there will not be pockets of resistance in the department. It is up to all of us to assure that those pockets of resistance are turned around very rapidly.”

Civil rights advocates had a mixed reaction to Parks’ statements.

“I’m delighted he said that, but police chiefs in the past have promised reforms that were never carried out. Only time will tell,” said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California.

USC law professor Erwin Chemerinsky said there is a “huge difference” between the legally binding consent decree and past calls for reform, such as commission reports.

“The difference here is, if [Parks] doesn’t implement the reforms there is the threat and reality of judicial enforcement,” Chemerinsky said. “He could be held in contempt of court. That is an inducement that’s never existed before.”

The city’s negotiating team is set to resume talks today with the Department of Justice to hammer out the final details of the consent decree. The council is expected to vote on ratification next week.

Some of the reforms include expanding LAPD’s internal affairs division, as well as establishing a special unit to investigate officers’ use of force. The agreement also proposes numerous audits of operations and reforms, with regular reports to the civilian Police Commission, and so-called “integrity checks” of officers in the field.

Justice Department investigators began probing allegations of civil rights abuses and excessive use of force against the LAPD more than four years ago. They concluded earlier this year that the department showed a “pattern or practice” of using excessive force and infringing the rights of minorities.