Mayor axes Los Angeles civilian police commission president

From CNN Correspondent Charles Feldman and Producer Stan Wilson

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan on Monday fired the civilian police commission president in an apparent effort to shake up the leadership of the Los Angeles Police Department.

In an interview with CNN, commission president Gerald Chaleff said he received a letter from the mayor early Monday outlining the reasons for his dismissal. Chaleff said the mayor expressed an interest in changing directions for the beleaguered and scandal-plagued LAPD.

Chaleff was appointed to the five-member commission in 1997 and was elected president in July 1999. Chaleff served as deputy general counsel to the Webster Commission, which investigated the LAPD's actions during the 1992 riots.

In the interview with CNN, Chaleff took a swipe at LAPD Chief Bernard Parks, whose performance has been blamed by various surveys for the low morale of LAPD's rank and file.

"The mayor gave Parks a raise last week," noted Chaleff.

Chaleff and Riordan have been at odds during the protracted LAPD crisis, with Chaleff supporting a consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department, while Riordan vehemently opposed it. It was only after the mayor was made aware that he lacked votes in the city council that he reluctantly endorsed the decree into which the city has entered.

"With the consent decree moving from the negotiation stage to the implementation, it is time for new leadership," said Riordan in a statement. "For the sake of Angelenos, we must focus our efforts on the core management issues of community policing, recruitment, morale and consent decree implementation."

Asked whether he thought his stance on the consent decree had anything to do with his dismissal, Chaleff told CNN he thought it played a part in the action.

Parks, who also bitterly opposed a consent decree, runs the department on a daily basis but answers to the civilian police commission.

City Attorney and mayoral candidate James Hahn, who served with Chaleff in negotiating the consent decree, credited him with reaching an agreement.

"Mr. Chaleff responded to the Rampart scandal with a true commitment to the goal of reforming the LAPD," he said. "It is his commitment, joined with others, that allowed us to reach a settlement with the federal government that will help to implement real and lasting reform."

The consent decree binds the city to take certain steps to reform the nearly 10,000-officer department, and includes such measures as tracking reports of racial profiling, implementing a tracking system for problem officers and improving the performance of the department's internal affairs unit.

The latest abuse charges surfaced after former officer Rafael Perez told authorities that officers in the Rampart Division's anti-gang unit routinely beat suspects in police custody, planted evidence and in some cases shot unarmed civilians without probable cause.

Perez is serving a reduced prison term as part of a plea agreement with state authorities after stealing cocaine from a police evidence room at LAPD headquarters.

Riordan's actions came days after he complained to officers at the Rampart Division about rising crime rates, decline in arrests, low morale and recruitment problems. "This is not leadership," said Riordan.

Asked whether more actions could be expected from Riordan, whose tenure expires in June, mayoral spokesman Peter Hidalgo said "the call is really not only to the police commission, but also to the police department -- anyone playing a leadership role."

Parks, whose five-year tenure expires in 2002, was appointed by Riordan.

Los Angeles Police Department timeline
May 12, 2000
Charles Feldman: Rampart scandal causes a recruiting nightmare for LAPD
December 20, 2000
Los Angeles mayor signs LAPD consent decree
November 4, 2000

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