officers - The Black Vault

I
FD-350 (Rev. 5·8·81)
•
(Indicate page, name of
newspaper, city and state.)
BILL BOYARSKY
The Hidden
Strength of
Chief Gates
(Mount Clipping in Space Below)
Anyone watching the Los Angeles
; City Council and the police
· commission meetings Wednesday
would have bet Chief Daryl F. Gates was
on his way out-and quickly.
Shouts of "Gates must go! Gates must .
go!" rocked the first-floor auditorium of
Parker Center-the police
.headquarters-as the commission
conducted a hearing on the Rodney G.
.King beating. The commission and Gates
sat and listened, the chief expressionless
-except for an occasional, scornful smile.
This was government by screaming, a
day of mobs and media, just like in Tom
Wolf.e's novel "Bonfire of the Vanities."
Television camera crews lined up inside
and outside the auditorium. As the
tumultuous public hearing drew to a
close, Channel 7's reporter went on t.pe
air live, ordering his cameraman to give
him a close-up of the beleaguered Gates.
A short time later, the noise level was
only a couple-of decibels lower at the
City Council. "It's not only that Gates
must go, but Gates will go!" shouted one ·
.'speaker. That prediction was made with
·great certainty.
But know this: Behind the shouting
and the televised images, the chief's
position is stronger than it seems.
tJ
First of all, the chiefs job, as has been
widely discussed, is protected by the
Civil Service system. Gates reports to the
Police Comtrlission, which is appointed
by Mayor Tom Bradley. But the
· commission can't fire him. It can only
recommend firing to the Civil Service
Commission, also named by the mayor.
-That recommendation is not binding,
on the ciyil service commissioners, a
small handful of appointees who so far
pave not been asked to play in this civic · ·
,drama. This commission must hold .
lengthy hearings structured to protect
the employee, a process shaped by years
of court decisions upholding the sanctity
of the Civil Service system. Advantage
always is to the accused.
When Gates appeared before the City
Council on Wednesday, it was clear that
in addition to this systemic protection he
enjoys sonie significant political support.
It was not so much what council
members said, but what they did-little,
telling gestures. Joel Wachs never stated
how he felt about Gates' tenure, but he ·
sure acted like a friend. Wachs asked
Gates the easiest of all questions: What
·will you do to rebuild confidence in the
LAPD? That gave the chief the floor for
a long solilqquy in defense of his regime.
Add Erhani Bernardi to the pro-Gates
. ranks. He wondered aloud why the
California Highway Patrol ana Los
Angeles school district police, whose
officers witnessed the King beating, have
escaped criticism.
The two black members of the City
Council, Nate Holden and Bob Farrell,
also w~re reserved, which might surprise
those, who have seized on the fact that
the beating victim was a black man and
the beaters were white. Holden told me
j that he is reserving his opinion until he
·j sees whether Gates has_generated a
pattern of discriminatory behavior.
Afterward, Councilwoman Joan 'Milke ·
Flores said she thought if all showed
Gates' str.ength on the council. Council
President John Ferraro agreed. "None of
them have said he should resign," said
Ferraro. "By not saying anything, the
council is saying he should stay." .
Why the support? Constituents are one
.reason. Joy Picus, who represents a
largely white, fairly affluent portion of
the San Fernando Valley, told me most of
the constituent calls to her office favored
Gates. Council members also are grateful
LOS ANGELES TIMES
~~::~nfRI. t4AR 22, 1991
METRO SECTION, PAGE 2
Title:
THE HIDDEN STRENGTH OF
CHIEF GATES
Character:CIVIL RIGHTS
or
Classification: 80-33 B
Submitting Office:
LOS ANGELES
Indexing:
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MAR 2 7 1991
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FBI -- LOS ANGELES ~
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for additional cops provided for trouble
:spots in their council districts. Any time
there's trouble in Zev Yaroslavsky's
• Westwood Yillage, the streets are lined
with blue. Wachs and Valley cops
worked closely together to try to clean
up streets of drug dealers in Sepulveda.
As Chief Gates reminded the council, all .
of their districts received such help. ·,
"This," he said, "is a Police -
. Department that has supported you."
0
Council support isn't a matter of votes.
~ ·The Civil Service system-has taken the
· question of Gates' job tenure out of the
~ hands of the council and the mayor.
; That's what it's supposed to do.
: Fifty-four years ago, reformers changed
1 the City Charter to do just that because
they didn't want a police chief made
captive to politics.
Rather, council backing, even if it is
expressed through silence, serves as a
counterweight to the political pressure
being exerted by Mayor Bradley and his
aides, who are trying to force the chief
out. With Bradley mainly acting as
· cheerlea