Bratton Defends Discipline

The Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday asked for more detailed reports on officer discipline after Police Chief William J. Bratton said a steep drop in the firing and suspension of officers and civilian workers last year was an “aberration.”

Although civilian complaints against Los Angeles Police Department employees were up last year, 46% fewer officers and civilian staff members were fired or suspended than in 2004, The Times reported this week.

A written report that Bratton presented to the commission Tuesday showed that 421 employees were fired, quit under pressure or were suspended last year, roughly half the 784 staff members who were terminated or suspended in 2004.

Bratton told commissioners that suspensions and firings in 2004 were artificially high because “there was a concerted effort to clear up a backlog of complaints that had not been processed.”

“So there was an aberration,” he added.

Bratton said there also was a surge in citizen complaints after his department began doing sting operations to ensure officers were not discouraging civilians from making complaints.

Cmdr. Eric Lillo acknowledged to the commission that fewer cases were cleared in 2005.

Commissioners said they would like to see future reports go back more than one year so broader trends can be identified.

Bratton said the decline in the numbers should not be taken as a sign that discipline in the department is lax.