LAPD disclosure rule is blocked

A federal appeals court last week temporarily blocked strict financial disclosure requirements for hundreds of specialized Los Angeles police officers.

The disclosures are supposed to help supervisors detect corruption among narcotics and gang officers who frequently confiscate cash and other contraband. They are intended to fulfill one of the many reforms called for by a federal consent decree imposed on the LAPD after the Rampart corruption scandal.

The union that represents the department’s rank and file has opposed the policy from the outset, arguing it would invade officers’ privacy and do little to catch rogue cops. The union filed a lawsuit against the policy and asked U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, who oversees the consent decree, to issue an injunction until the case was decided. Feess rejected the request, and the union promptly appealed. The appeals court is to hold a hearing on the case in December.

-- Joel Rubin