Hopefuls Spar Over Schedule for L.A. Police

The two mayoral candidates continued to squabble Wednesday over their positions on compressed work schedules for police officers, as former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa insisted that he has never backed the three-day-a-week schedule endorsed by City Atty. James K. Hahn.

The campaigns released a flurry of back-and-forth news releases about the police workweek a day after public safety issues dominated the candidates’ first debate.

During their encounter Tuesday night at USC, Villaraigosa criticized Hahn for supporting a schedule of three 12-hour days a week for some Los Angeles police officers. Minutes after the debate ended, Hahn countered by telling reporters that Villaraigosa had voiced support for the same schedule during a police union debate in July, citing a story about the debate that ran in The Times.

But on Wednesday, Villaraigosa’s campaign insisted that he never backed the so-called 3-12 schedule, releasing a transcript of the Police Protective League debate July 11 that indicated the candidates were asked about a schedule of four 10-hour days per week.

A review of a tape of the debate provided by the Villaraigosa campaign showed that both candidates said they are generally for a compressed work schedule but did not explicitly back a 3-12 week.

What form a compacted schedule should take has been the subject of much disagreement, with the police union backing the 3-12 model and police Chief Bernard C. Parks vigorously opposing it.

During the debate Tuesday, Villaraigosa said the 3-12 schedule would take police officers off the streets and implied that Hahn agreed to back it in order to secure the union’s endorsement.

The former assemblyman has said he would support other forms of a compressed work schedule.

Hahn said a police workweek that included 3-12 has been used successfully in other police departments and would help retain officers who are leaving the LAPD.

Later the city attorney said his opponent must have “amnesia” if he forgot that he supported a 3-12 week in July.

On Wednesday, Villaraigosa’s campaign consultant Parke Skelton demanded that Hahn apologize.

“The only person with amnesia is Jimmy Hahn,” said Skelton in a statement released by the campaign, adding that the city attorney “should immediately apologize to Antonio for deliberately distorting the record.”

Hahn consultant Kam Kuwata said that if Villaraigosa had been upset that he was mistakenly portrayed as supporting a 3-12 week in The Times and in a Daily News editorial about the police union debate that ran in July, he should have voiced a complaint then, rather than waiting until after the police union board recommended backing Hahn.

“I think it’s a little fishy that they produced a tape now,” Kuwata said. “Why did they not correct it then? Why did it go on for nine months?”

Meanwhile, the police union sent a letter to Villaraigosa on Wednesday evening expressing concern that, among other things, his criticism of the 3-12 workweek means that he is backing away from a pledge he made to the union to implement a compressed work schedule within 120 days of taking office.