Cut LAPD Scandals’ Roots

Not again. Another scandal brewing in the Los Angeles Police Department has fingered a pair of cops who allegedly ripped off drug dealers at gunpoint. One of the officers may even have been involved in murder, Times staff writers Scott Glover and Matt Lait revealed last week.

This latest allegation comes as the Rampart case winds down and as Police Chief Bernard C. Parks made it known that he wants to keep his job. Mayor James K. Hahn should judge his request for a second five-year term by how well Parks’ LAPD responds to the charges of corruption that continue to plague it, how effectively it implements the federal consent decree it once fought and how quickly morale in the department improves.

But whether or not Parks continues as chief, managers throughout the Police Department must accept the need for change and encourage it. Sergeants know which cops need watching and understand that the scandals are not isolated. Neither they nor the brass between them and the chief’s office should be let off the hook. Up and down the department hierarchy are people who could have and should have pushed to track officers who rack up citizen complaints or appear to use too much force. After all, the Christopher Commission, which was formed after the videotaped police beating of Rodney King, called for better tracking in 1991--two chiefs back.

There has been progress. The LAPD can now keep an eye on officers who have a history of problems, but its automated systems are not fully integrated and don’t allow comprehensive monitoring. Washington understood how the disconnect between systems could allow bad officers’ records to fall through the cracks. The consent decree requires a system, estimated to cost $25 million during the first two years of operation, that can consistently keep tabs on personnel.

The Los Angeles City Council also appears to understand. Last week it approved a risk-management bureau charged with tracking officers and identifying those with disciplinary problems. It will be headed by a deputy police chief. Instead of the Police Commission, a steering committee appointed by the mayor and council will have final authority, adding needed civilian oversight. That committee, depending on the caliber and independence of the appointees, could become a significant prod for reform--especially given the added incentive of the U.S. Justice Department’s lingering threat to take over the LAPD.

No one likes someone looking over his or her shoulder. But nothing hammers police morale like a bad cop. That’s why Chief Parks and every manager under him must embrace reforms such as early identification that will help rid the department of the officers who humiliate it in scandal after scandal.