Black Activists Rally Backers of Chief Parks

As Police Chief Bernard C. Parks seeks a second term, African American activists, religious leaders and political officials are mobilizing various campaigns to secure his reappointment and discredit the police union that is leading the campaign against him.

Until recently, allies of the African American chief had limited their efforts to defending him against criticism by the Police Protective League, which has denounced him as a rigid and overly punitive manager and which has accused him of subverting community policing.

That is changing. Several top black leaders have begun lobbying Mayor James K. Hahn to keep the chief, while others are planning rallies and petition campaigns. A recent meeting of the Police Commission drew hundreds of Parks supporters.

Parks is the second African American to head the LAPD; the first, Willie L. Williams, was denied a second term in 1997 and was replaced by Parks.

“It’s generally understood among black leaders,” said Najee Ali, executive director of Project Islamic HOPE. “You can’t be in the middle on this one.”

Parks encouraged those efforts during a party in Hollywood on Thursday night celebrating his 37th anniversary with the Los Angeles Police Department.

“I think it’s important that the silent majority in this city begin to take an active role in expressing their views,” the chief told more than 100 friends, family members and others at the Sunset Room, where he announced his decision to seek a second term.

“We need people to be vocal and express their views when they see something going on that is not appropriate,” he added. “We need that assistance, because often when we defend ourselves, it’s self-serving. But when you defend us, it sends a powerful message. “

Two nights earlier, more than 300 people packed the Ward A.M.E. Church in South Los Angeles during a three-hour meeting of the Police Commission. About 60 people marched up to the microphone to commend the chief and deride the police union as others in the audience chanted, “Five more years!”

Outside, supporters marched with signs reading: “Finally a chief for the whole community” and “Down on the ground for no reason. Never again!”

“Why am I supporting Chief Bernard Parks today?” asked Joe Turner, 67. “Four years ago, we stopped having to get out of our cars and lay down on the streets in the rain in a suit.”

The lobbying for the chief has extended beyond the circle of city insiders and political officials. Steve Harvey, a radio deejay on the popular station known as “The Beat,” is urging people to support Parks, while South Los Angeles residents say they regularly discuss the matter with their neighbors as they shop.

“People talk about it at Kmart, wherever you go,” said Cashimire Smith, a teacher from Athens who attended the commission meeting. “This is the conversation going, period.”

One of the goals of the various campaigns on Parks’ behalf is to take on the Police Protective League, which has vowed to fight the chief’s reappointment, saying his stern leadership has caused morale to plummet. The union that represents rank-and-file officers is trying to raise $1 million to fight his reappointment and expects to wage an ad campaign to turn public opinion against a second term.

Some, however, see the league’s efforts as counterproductive, and say they have helped crystallize support for Parks.

“What we have taken full exception to is the manner with which the Police Protective League has shown utter disregard for the chief, for the fairness of the process,” City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas said. “Their hostility is over the top.”

League Too Judgmental of Black Executives?

The racial makeup of the league’s board--it has never included an African American--has deepened skepticism about its motives. As was the case when the league emerged as a critic of then-Chief Williams, some defenders of the chief say the league is too judgmental of black executives.

Parks, in fact, years ago helped found the LAPD’s Oscar Joel Bryant Assn., an organization of black officers. Mitzi Grasso, president of the union, denied that race has colored the league’s position, saying the league has had Latino directors in the past.

“I would ask the people who insist on making it racial to stop and grow up,” she said. “It’s not about race; it’s about leadership.”

Last week, almost a dozen black leaders sent a letter to Grasso asking for a community meeting to discuss whether the campaign against Parks is compromising public safety.

Grasso said Sunday that she had not received the letter, but said that union leaders would be happy to attend the meeting. She added that the league does not plan to let up its criticism of Parks.

“What we’ve done is focus on the issues that affect public safety,” she said. “We’re focusing on the fact that morale is very low, that there is no community-based policing, and yet these groups keep coming out and personalizing issues.”

‘Litmus Test Issue’ for Mayor Hahn

The other thrust of the various campaigns for Parks is to put the spotlight on Hahn, who grew up in South Los Angeles and won office in July with strong backing from African Americans.

“Obviously, given the fact that Mayor Hahn receives overwhelming support from the African American community, we feel it’s important that he not forget that,” said John Mack, president of the Urban League. “Many in our community see this as a litmus test issue.”

Others helping to push for Parks’ reappointment include Norman Johnson, executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; the Rev. Cecil Murray of the First A.M.E. Church; Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and basketball star Magic Johnson.

At the chief’s party Thursday night, other supporters urged Hahn to come out for Parks.

“I say to the mayor, stand up,” said Rep. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles). “The PPL cannot take the place of the mayor in this city.”

Hahn has repeatedly said that political pressure will not influence his opinion about the chief.

“I don’t think political pressure or rallies or anything else are helpful in making this decision,” the mayor said Friday. “And I would hope that everybody on all sides of the issue would lower the volume and allow the Police Commission to do its job.”

If Parks Rejected, Mayor Picks Chief Off Panel List

The commission says it expects to make a decision on Parks’ reappointment within two months. If it does not give the chief a second five-year term--which, by charter, would be his last--it would submit suggested replacements to Hahn, who would then name a new chief, subject to City Council confirmation. Any decision by the commission on Parks’ fate also could be vetoed by the City Council.

The more overt phase of support for the chief is a delicate balancing act, some black leaders admit. They are trying to showcase Parks’ support in the African American community without casting his reappointment as a racial issue or threatening racial tension if he is denied a second term.

“We’re trying to be sensitive to that and advocate on behalf of Chief Parks without backing anybody into a corner or inadvertently raising the temperature,” Mack said. “We don’t want to overdo it.”

In fact, he and others are quick to note that Parks has supporters of many ethnicities. In December, a group of business leaders met to consider ways to lobby for his renewal.

And many African American activists say they support Parks because of his leadership, not the color of his skin.

“We’re not coming together for Chief Parks because he’s black,” said Perry Crouch, a gang intervention expert with the Central Recovery Development Project. “We’re coming together for Chief Parks because he’s right. He weeded out those Yankee Doodle Dandies in the department, that cowboy mentality.”

Parks Remains Powerful Symbol of Racial Pride

Despite deliberate efforts to downplay Parks’ ethnicity in the selection process, the chief remains for some a powerful symbol of racial pride. He grew up in the LAPD during the department’s years of segregation, and he was long one of its most successful black officers. He was beaten out by Williams for the top job in 1992 and later demoted from the No. 2 job in the department, only to persevere and capture the top position five years ago.

His selection in 1997 helped mollify some department critics who questioned then-Mayor Richard Riordan’s decision to deny Williams a second term. Now, some of those same people are watching what will happen to Parks.

“Chief Parks is our contract,” one woman proclaimed vehemently to the commission last week. “Anything that is done to move him, we consider it a breach of contract.”