Speedier Ways to Punish Officers Urged

The Los Angeles Police Department’s system for disciplining officers is so slow and ineffective that Chief William J. Bratton should circumvent it and impose his own punishment on problem officers, a federal monitor concludes in a report released Monday.

Michael Cherkasky, who was appointed by a federal judge to oversee how the LAPD handles reforms stemming from the Rampart corruption scandal, urged Bratton to reduce the pay or confiscate the weapons and badges of officers he suspends for misconduct.

Cherkasky’s report adds another prominent voice to a movement to fundamentally change the way LAPD officers are disciplined. Bratton himself, along with some police commissioners, has proposed giving the chief final authority on punishment. Some community activists also are pushing for an amendment to the City Charter to change the discipline process.

Currently, officers accused of violating department policy are removed from patrol but often wait a year or more before a Board of Rights determines what punishment, if any, they should receive. The chief and Police Commission make a recommendation on punishment, but it is up to the Board of Rights -- made up of two high-ranking officers and a civilian -- to make the final call.

Cherkasky said that until the system is changed, Bratton should use other powers at his disposal, such as reducing pay, to hold officers accountable.

Bratton could not be reached for comment Monday, so it remained unclear whether the chief will embrace the recommendations. Cherkasky’s suggestions, however, carry significant weight because the LAPD needs the monitor to eventually conclude that the department has complied with a federal judge’s reform program.

The LAPD’s disciplinary policies came under criticism two years ago, when the Board of Rights cleared Officer Edward Larrigan in the May 21, 1999, fatal shooting of Margaret Mitchell, a mentally ill homeless woman.

Larrigan and his partner initially stopped Mitchell, 55, near 4th Street and La Brea Avenue to determine whether she had stolen a shopping cart that she was pushing. The 5-foot-2-inch Mitchell pulled a 12-inch-long screwdriver from the cart and waved it at the officers before allegedly moving toward Larrigan. The officer, who said he feared for his life, fatally shot her.

The Police Commission ruled that the shooting violated LAPD regulations, but the Board of Rights found the shooting to be justified.

The Board of Rights has overturned the Police Commission at least three others times in recent years, allowing officers to escape punishment for shootings that the commission ruled improper, a Times investigation found.

Cherkasky said in his report that the Board of Rights has “historically undercut” disciplinary recommendations by the police chief and Police Commission, though he did not cite any specific examples.

He said suspensions by themselves don’t amount to a deterrent, noting that officers often secure insurance through the police union to reimburse them for lost wages during a suspension.

“When the judgment of an officer is found to be flawed in the decision of whether to employ deadly physical force, the consequence must be significant enough to both prevent that officer from again exercising poor judgment and to deter other officers from making similar mistakes,” Cherkasky wrote.

Police union officials immediately criticized Cherkasky’s idea, saying the Board of Rights provides a crucial check against the police chief or Police Commission from abusing their power. They said the idea of the chief handing out his own discipline undermines the Board of Rights process.

“That is very concerning,” Bob Baker, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said of the suggestion to use alternative sanctions against officers. “Our officers come to work every day and do a good job. I don’t think any officer comes to work and wants to shoot at someone.”

The Board of Rights was created in the 1930s to prevent political interference in the operations of the LAPD.

But some community activists think the idea makes sense.

“I am supportive of any measure that provides some accountability, and I want the chief to do whatever he can to punish officers who wrongfully shoot anyone,” said Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope, one of several African American community activists who has been lobbying the Los Angeles City Council to amend the City Charter and eliminate the Board of Rights.

Cherkasky also criticized the LAPD for using some training officers who had histories of complaints so serious that it raised questions about whether they should serve as police officers, let alone train future ones.

The monitor’s oversight is part of the consent decree the city signed with the U.S. Justice Department three years ago in which it agreed to a series of reforms rather than fight federal allegations that it systematically abused the rights of citizens.

As part of the reforms, the department must be in “substantial compliance” for two years with nearly 200 provisions dealing with areas such as gang enforcement, confidential informants, civilian complaints and use of force.

There were bright spots in the monitor’s latest report, which praised a new Mental Illness Project team designed to reduce violent encounters with mentally ill people by giving immediate access to mental health services.