officers - The Black Vault

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Angeles because of the King incident, but decided his
appearan~e was needed in Hawaii, Fabiani said.
"The mayor can't be held hostage to this situation,"
Fabiani said. "He is only going to be gone two days. He
is in constant contact with the office and is pr~pared to
deal with any situation that arises. Winning the Super
Bowl for the city is important economically as well as
to the city's self-esteem." ;
The mayor and police commissioners first learned of
the police communications last week when Gates told
them privately that the tapes contained "information
of public interest," said Fabiani and Police Commissioner
Sam Williams. - ·
· ~.~ ·Lomax said Gates initially told her there was no
.: · indication of any racial hostility on tbe part of the
' -officers. But when the chief contacted Lomax at the
· end of last week to discuss the tapes, "Gates basically
had to eat his words," Lomax said.
Gates could not be reached for comment. ,
Gates told the mayor's office last week that he had
withheld the police communications based on the
advice of Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, according to Fabiani.
The mayor's staff spent many nours ·over the
weekend considering whether t6 initiate the release of
the police tapes, even though Bradley aides had not
seen any transcripts, sources said.
• On Monday morning, Reiner told Fabiani that· he
"never prohibited the release of the information at any
point," Fabiani said. That is when the mayor decided
to instruct the Police Commission to release the tapes.
"The last thing in the world the Police Department
neecl!; is an allegation t~at releyant information is
being held back from the public," Fabiani said.
Bradley's order marked at least the third time since
the King ·incident that the mayor has directed Gates to
act. Earlier, at the request of Bradley, Gates pulled the
15 officers involved in the beating off the street and
addressed his officers in an attempt to boost morale.
'More steps are planned to increase p~ssure ~n Gates,
sources said.
"I think what you are witnessing is traditional Tom
Bradley," sai~ Mike Gage, a Bradley appointee on the
Water and Power .Commission and a former deputy
-mayor. "His response is very·measured. It is evolving
and trying to stay a little bit ahead of the curve. . . .
I;Ie is incredibly proud of the city of Los Angele.s and
he sees this as a mark against the city. He is going to
take the leadership ~eps to counter that." .
Bradley's response to the Police Department crisis
comes ·as he faces an ongoing investigation into his
personal finances and official duties.
"I think it is important that s.omebody take leadership
in this whole issue," said Ramona Ripston, head of
the local American Civil-Liberties Union chapter.
"I also think that in terms of his past difficulties,
[Bradley] would like to show he can be a strong leader.
This gives him the opportunity to show that he can
.be."