Chief Says He Didn’t Mean to Offend Blacks

Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton apologized during a Saturday radio show for what some have called offensive remarks about blacks made most recently by the chief in the wake of the June 23 televised police beating of a black suspect.

Bratton was asked to appear on the show to discuss the investigation, but before he answered the first question he apologized.

“I’d like to extend an apology, a sincere apology, if there is anybody in the community -- or any other community for that matter -- that have been offended by any of the comments and remarks I’ve made in the course of this investigation,” Bratton said. “They were certainly not intended to be insensitive or to offend.”

During the 1 1/2-hour “L.A. Speaks Out” show on KJLH-FM 102.3, Bratton and other guests discussed the rocky relationship between blacks and the LAPD and the police beating investigation.

Though Bratton was not specific about which comments he was apologizing for, a spokeswoman for the chief said after the show he was referring to remarks he made during a recent interview on CNN and words Councilman Bernard C. Parks accused the chief of using in the past year to describe blacks.

During the CNN interview, Bratton used “nitwit” when referring to Najee Ali, a community activist and former member of a city commission set up to examine the beating. Ali has since resigned from the commission. Bratton had previously apologized for using the remark.

The June 25 interview came two days after an officer beat Stanley Miller, 36, with his flashlight. Miller was being pursued because he was in a stolen car.

Parks, who represents part of South Los Angeles, confronted Bratton at a council meeting Wednesday, telling the chief that his office had received complaints about his use of words such as “tribal,” “thugs” and “terrorists” over the past year when describing some blacks.

At the time, Bratton took offense to Parks raising the issue and said one of the main reasons he took the police chief job was to improve race relations.

During the show Saturday, Bratton said the investigation was moving swiftly and thoroughly.

The show’s other guests were Deputy Chief Earl Paysinger, Police Commission Inspector Gen. Andre Birotte Jr. and three members of a community monitoring committee made up of church leaders and community activists to address the beating.

“There were some comments that [Bratton] made that I think struck a nerve with the black community,” Paysinger told listeners. “It takes a mark of a good and an effective and a thoughtful leader, first of all, to reflect and to acknowledge there has been an error and then in a very public way apologize for it.”

Paysinger said Bratton was describing gang members.

The controversy has political implications. Parks is running against Mayor James K. Hahn in the next election. Bratton was handpicked by the mayor after he chose not to reappoint Parks as police chief.

In his closing comments on the show, the chief said he was trying to care for all the people of Los Angeles. “Moving forward, I’ll try to learn from this and find ways that people of this city, of all the races of the city, understand what’s in my heart,” he said. “Because my heart is in the right place I truly believe. But I quite obviously need to learn a lot more how to articulate that.”