Police Unions Launch Anti-Secession Fight

Two unions that represent Los Angeles police officers staged a rally Tuesday against secession by the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood, launching a well-funded campaign to paint the breakup proposals as a threat to crime fighting.

The rally by the Police Protective League and the Command Officers Assn. attracted about 200 officers to the league’s athletic field near Dodger Stadium. The two organizations represent more than 9,000 employees of the Los Angeles Police Department.

“I’m very confident Hollywood and the Valley will see it’s in their best interest to stay with this great city and this great Police Department,” said Capt. Jim Tatreau, association president.

Secession leaders argue that Valley and Hollywood cities would provide better police service by deploying more officers to the regions. They also contend that the unions are opposing secession in the hope that the city will reward them with better contracts if the breakup measures lose on the Nov. 5 ballot.

“The police are playing out their role of supporting their bosses, who are the mayor and City Council,” said Sharon Jimenez of the Hollywood Independence Committee.

At the rally, Police Protective League President Mitzi Grasso presented Mayor James K. Hahn with a $100,000 check for his anti-secession campaign. She said the union plans to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars more on television and radio spots attacking secession.

The Command Officers Assn., which represents LAPD supervisors, will contribute an undisclosed sum to the campaign against Hollywood secession, Tatreau said. The association plans to work with an anti-secession group headed by City Councilmen Tom LaBonge and Eric Garcetti.

Tatreau said a Valley city would likely have trouble assigning the large number of detectives and officers who worked on cases such as the May 2001 slaying of actor Robert Blake’s wife. Blake was arrested and charged in the Studio City killing after 15 detectives interviewed more than 150 witnesses in 20 states, the captain said.

“No small city could put that number of detectives into a case without turning itself upside-down,” Tatreau said.

But Richard Katz, chairman of the Valley secession campaign, said that a Valley city would be the nation’s sixth largest and have an annual budget of nearly $1 billion.

“The sixth-largest city certainly will have the resources to do whatever it needs to do and provide public safety at least at the level currently provided, if not better,” Katz said.

If secession wins, LAPD officers would patrol the new cities during a transition, after which the cities would have the option of contracting with the LAPD for continued service. The cities could also contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department or set up their own police agencies, which the unions have said could lead to LAPD layoffs.

Meanwhile, City Controller Laura Chick said on Tuesday that she has decided to oppose secession. “The millions of dollars which would be required to split the city apart are dollars that should be going to providing needed services to the people of Los Angeles,” said Chick, who formerly represented the West Valley on the City Council.

Also on Tuesday, the number of potential candidates who have taken out papers to run for the Valley city council and mayor’s office reached 107, although only 25 have filed them. The deadline for filing is Friday.

Five of the 12 prospective mayoral candidates had filed petitions as of Tuesday. Among the new contenders is Mel Wilson, former president of the San Fernando Valley Board of Realtors.

In Hollywood, four candidates for council had filed petitions by Tuesday.