Los Angeles may approve police reform agreement with Justice Department

In this story: Federal government won't take over LAPD Police union seeks to block deal RELATED STORIES, SITES

From CNN Correspondent Charles Feldman

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- After long negotiations, the city of Los Angeles is likely to enter into a binding agreement with the U.S. Justice Department this week to reform the police department, sources said.

The agreement, called a consent decree, is scheduled to be voted on by the city council on Thursday and is expected to pass, an aide to Mayor Richard Riordan told CNN.

The decree, which has the reluctant backing of the mayor and the police chief, is the result of months of closed-door negotiating sessions between city officials, lawyers from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and representatives of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The Justice Department had threatened to sue the city if it did not agree to sign a consent decree. For months, Riordan insisted he would never endorse such an agreement because, in his view, it would surrender the autonomy of the police department to the federal government.

But after it became apparent earlier this fall that the city council had enough votes to push through a bill on the decree, the mayor backed down, saying he would agree to the deal with modifications.

The Justice Department focused on the LAPD shortly after the videotaped beating of Rodney King in 1991. The more recent Rampart corruption scandal -- in which officers are accused of planting evidence, framing and even shooting innocent people -- added to the investigation.

The Justice Department has the authority to call for a consent decree following the passage of a federal law a few years ago. The law allows such a move if an investigation finds "a pattern or practice of police abuse."

Federal government won't take over LAPD

The mayor's aide said the council should finish its vote on Thursday, although it could spill over to Friday. Once the measure is passed, the mayor has 10 days to sign it, although the aide said it should happen much sooner. After that, the decree will be filed in federal court and a federal judge will have jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the agreement.

The mayor did win one concession, in that the federal government will not assume daily operational control of the more than 9,000 member department, the second-largest municipal police force in the nation. It will be the largest police department to come under federal supervision.

One city council member speculated the mayor would wait until after next week's presidential election to decide whether to sign the decree. The council member said the mayor may feel that under a Bush administration, the Justice Department could view the situation in Los Angeles more favorably.

Police union seeks to block deal

Sgt. Dennis Zine, vice president of the Police Protective League, told CNN the consent decree is a "farce." The union represents the more than 9,000 police officers in the city.

Zine said he was outraged that the union was not part of the negotiating team.

"We have not had any input, the community has not had any input. We support police reform, but we want to be part of the process," Zine told CNN.

To that end, the Police Protective League has an appearance in state court scheduled for Thursday morning, just hours before the consent decree comes up before the city council. Zine said the union will try to stop the decree from being implemented until his union can provide input.

Zine said that one of the decree's provisions calls for the union to give its input before the consent decree is implemented. He said the union "was not a party to any of the negotiations, and so the meet and confer process has really become a farce."

Zine admitted that because the decree is a federal action, and the union's argument is being heard in state court, the judge may not even have the authority to rule on the motion.

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American Civil Liberties Union
Pittsburgh Police Bureau
Los Angeles Police Department Web site
Justice Department Civil Rights Division
Los Angeles County District Attorney
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California
Federal Bureau of Investigation

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