Parker’s file

This week, the Los Angeles City Council will vote on whether the new police headquarters should bear the name of controversial former Police Chief William H. Parker. Parker was admired for largely ending corruption on the force. But his attitudes on race and his high-handed style also brought him many detractors, among them J. Edgar Hoover, who ran the FBI during Parker’s tenure. For more than a decade during the 1950s and 1960s, the FBI kept tabs on Parker, reporting on public remarks and private asides. The bureau’s observations are captured in a 508-page file, obtained in 2006 by Jim Newton, editor of the editorial pages. Here are excerpts from that file, most of them taken from reports filed by the bureau’s Los Angeles office. The excerpt with Hoover’s picture attached is from Hoover himself, granting permission for agents to contact Parker but warning them against trusting the chief.