Chaleff May Still Play a Role in LAPD Consent Decree

Members of the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday began looking for ways to keep Gerald L. Chaleff involved in efforts to implement police reforms, even though the mayor fired him as president of the Police Commission earlier this week.

Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski said she was prepared to introduce a motion asking that Chaleff continue to work for the city--at least as a consultant. She said the council needs his help to pick a monitor to oversee the reforms and negotiate the process of implementing a federal consent decree.

At least six other council members have indicated they would be willing to support such a motion, officials said.

“Gerry has got to be there,” said Miscikowski, head of the council’s Public Safety Committee. “He has been through the thick of it. We need him there for continuity.”

Chaleff--a member of the Police Commission since 1997--was appointed by Council President John Ferraro last spring to a four-member team that negotiated the consent decree with federal officials in the wake of the Rampart corruption scandal. That document is the blueprint for overhauling the Los Angeles Police Department.

Although the council approved the consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice in November, it still must decide on who should serve as the court monitor overseeing implementation of the decree.

Chaleff was expected to play a crucial role in picking the monitor, until he was fired from the commission earlier this week by Mayor Richard Riordan. Arguing that the department was in crisis and needed strong leadership, Riordan decided it was time for Chaleff to step aside.

Although Riordan said he fired Chaleff because the commission had failed to adequately address issues of morale, community policing and recruitment, a number of council members and others accused the mayor of removing Chaleff because he had pushed hard to reform the LAPD.

“The mayor may wish to think that he can strong-arm the Police Commission . . . but this council has to make it abundantly clear that he will not strong-arm us,” Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas told his colleagues.

Chaleff said Wednesday that he has not decided whether to appeal his firing to the City Council. Many City Hall insiders question whether Chaleff has the 10 votes he needs to reverse Riordan’s decision.

However, Chaleff has a better chance of being kept on as a consultant on the consent decree--a move that would require only eight votes.

Chief Legislative Analyst Ronald Deaton, meanwhile, told council members that Chaleff’s knowledge could not be replaced on the city’s negotiating team.

Chaleff said he would like to continue his work on the consent decree. “I would like to see this through to its finish,” he said.

But Deputy Mayor Kelly Martin questioned whether it was appropriate to keep Chaleff on as part of the negotiating team if he is no longer serving in an official capacity for the city.

“I think Gerry played a valuable role and there has to be a way to make a smooth transition,” said Martin, who represented Riordan in talks with the Department of Justice. “That would be true whether he leaves now or five months from now, when we all leave. What’s the best mechanism for that, we have to think about it carefully.”