Council Approves Mayor’s Nominees for Police Panel

After nearly 90 minutes of pointed questioning, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved Mayor James K. Hahn’s five nominees for the Police Commission, all but one of them unanimously.

The council voted 14 to 0 to approve current Commissioner Bert Boeckmann, along with attorneys Rick J. Caruso, David Cunningham III and Rose Matsui Ochi to the civilian board, which sets policy for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Silvia Saucedo, another lawyer, was approved on a 12-2 vote, with council members Cindy Miscikowski and Jack Weiss--both members of the council’s Public Safety Committee--opposing her.

Miscikowski and Weiss questioned whether Saucedo, who is 27, has the life experience to serve on the important panel. But other city lawmakers shrugged off the questions about Saucedo’s experience and argued that her qualifications as a lawyer and her upbringing in Pico-Union helped make her an appropriate choice.

“Experience comes in many forms,” Councilwoman Janice Hahn told her colleagues. “A woman and a minority has experiences that many people will never have at any age. . . . Frankly, and with all due respect, we have had commissioners with experience and age and frankly our department is still--in my opinion--a mess.”

Councilman Nick Pacheco added: “Any time you see a successful minority, you see someone who has been tested.”

Miscikowski, who questioned Saucedo at the Public Safety Committee session and met with her privately, said that although Saucedo is an “outstanding person,” she wondered whether a young person would be able to stand up to Police Chief Bernard C. Parks and the other strong personalities associated with the Police Department.

“This commission is going to be tested,” said Miscikowski, who along with Weiss last month voted to elect 28-year-old Councilman Alex Padilla as council president. “Seasoned veterans have been exhausted by this commission.”

Weiss argued that the city needs five commissioners “who are ready to hit the ground running.”

“It’s not just a matter of having the nerve to stand up to someone,” Weiss said. “It’s a matter of having the knowledge and the experience base to make the judgment that you are doing the right thing.”

Councilman Joel Wachs, who is preparing to leave his council seat, used the occasion of the commission appointments to question whether the new panel will be able to handle the challenges that await its members. “I’ve seen very good people come along for 30 years and things have gotten worse instead of better,” Wachs said. “I’m not optimistic that these five people can change things. That’s what saddens me. Reform just doesn’t come that easily.”

Even so, the five commissioners told council members that they would work diligently and independently to make a difference.

“It is my duty to remain independent of the chief, the inspector general and the union,” Saucedo said. “My ultimate responsibility is to the community.”

Ochi told the council that when Hahn asked her to serve on the commission, he told her that he wanted her to be independent.

“We need to be unfettered in making our decisions,” Ochi said.

During the lengthy grilling, council members also asked the commissioners where they stood on instituting a compressed work schedule, which would allow officers to work three, 12-hour days each week.

Generally, the commissioners agreed that the board must work to boost morale among the LAPD’s rank-and-file, although Boeckmann told the council that he had misgivings about the effectiveness of a shortened workweek.

Councilman Eric Garcetti asked the appointees how they felt about the LAPD’s handling of the protesters during the Democratic National Convention last year. All but one of the commissioners said they believed that the police generally did a good job.

Meanwhile, Mayor Hahn said Wednesday that he has high expectations for the new commissioners, who will meet for the first time Tuesday.

“I want them to bring a fresh, independent look at the department and how it is working with the community, how well it is fighting crime, and how we are doing on police reform,” Hahn said.