officers - The Black Vault

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It was a rare display of anger
from the chief, who seemed fatigued
by the crisis.
"The chief of police will one day
leave this department ... " he told
the council to cheers from the
audience. "But not because of those
folks [the protesters)."
Some conservative council
members said they would support
the chief.
"I do support him. I'd like to see
him stay," said Councilman Hal
Bernson, who represents part of
the Valley. "I think he's very
capable and has the ability to do
what's necessarv" to rebuild confidence
in the department.
Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores
hugged the chief after he
entered the council chambers. "It's
a difficult·issue," she said. "I think
the chief has done a good job. . . .
If you've got a broken arm, I don't
know if cutting off your head is the . .
way to fix it." .
· Privately, some council members
have said they do not feel
Gates' ouster would solve all of the
department's problems. Some
council aides say that the council
members fear the political back-
,,.lash of appearing to be anti-police
when the city is being ravaged by
crime. Still other staffers say the
council members fear that if they
attack the chief it could hurt their
efforts to obtain special police services
in their districts.
To date, no council member has
called for Gates to resign.
Bradley's remarks about Gates'
future came as the mayor returned
Wednesday afternoon from a busi-
11ess trip to Hawaii. "People are not
calling on 8,300 officers to retire,"
he said. "TMy are calling on the
chief. The only way to start the
healing process is for him to remove
himself from the center of
[the] storm."
After Wednesday's council session,
Gates offered his first response
to Bradley's comments.
"I've indicated over and over
again I'm not going anywhere," he
said. "That's all there is to it. It's
rehashing what has already been
hashed over."
Asked about Bradley saying that
Gates could restore confidence in
department by stepping down, the
chief responded: "I wish I could
restore my ·energy by going to
Hawaii."
Independent moves to force
Gates from office also gathered
momentum Wednesday.
Civil rights groups announced a
campaign to coax recently retired
Assistant Chief Jesse Brewer back
to replace Gates. Brewer was the
highest-ranking black officer in
the department.
The announcement came after a
coalition of 20 community leaders-from
groups including the
National Assn. for the Advance-
. ment of Colored People, the
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference and the Nation of Islam-held
a closed meeting to
develop strategies to force Gates
from office.
"If anybody thinks the pressure
will relent, -they're in for a ·big
surprise," said John Mack, president
of the Los Angeles Urban
·League. "This community will remain
determined."
Bill Shearer, vice president and
general manager of radio station
KGFJ and a leader of the coalition,
praised Brewer for his "impeccable
credentials."
'
Shearer said he had contacted
Brewer about the plan, but said
Brewer "has implied that he's not
excited about accepting such a
challenge." He added that Brewer
said he might accept the post if a
coalition of community leaders
persuaded him to do so.
Gates also faces a campaign for
his ouster by community activists
and religious leaders under a provision
in the City Charter that
allows citizens to recall appointed
officials.
The grass-roots effort is expected
to get started today with the
publishing of a legal notice in The
Times giving Gates notice as required
under the City Charter.
Petitioners can then begin trying _
to collect about 60,000 signatures
that would be needed to qualify for
a special election.
Ev~n though the city attorney's
office issued an opinion in 1987 t:P.at
the heads of all city departments
are subject to the re.call provision,
senior Assistant City Atty. Merkin
said his office is studying whether
the charter covers the police chief.
Gates walked into the commis­
·sion chambers Wednesday -to a
chorus of boos. Lomax-describing
plans to conduct an exhaustive
-review of the Police Departmentwas
drowned out by a crowd
screaming "Gates got to go! Gates
got to go!" interspersed with one ·
man's cry, "You bigot!"
Gates had a handful of supporters,
too. One voice shouted "Hang
in there Daryl! Gates must stay!"
Ea_rly in the meeting, Ramona
Ripston, executive director of the
_ American Civil Liberties Union of
Southern California, announced
that she had 10,000 'letters demanding
Gates' resignation. She
had her staff dump a dozen boxes of
them on the stage.
Earlier, 20 television news crews
descended on the marble-lined
.City Council chambers, awaiting
Gates' appearance. The chief arrive!t
after 11 a.m. and stood by
ston ed as a dozen members of
the pu lie sharply· criticized him
and his department.
Some said they were angered by
revelations in the ~ing case, including
the release of transcripts
showing that some officers invalved
in the "Qeating made racial
slurs.
'
ne speaker, Mervin Evans' of
OLos Angeles, said he was angered
by reports that some of the
officers involved in the beating and
other police officials had downplayed
the extent of King's injuries
in police reports.
"I am shocked that members of
the LAPD would try to cover up
this incident," Evans said. "Police
confidence has been shaken to the
core. Confidence in the chief is
gone." · ·
After the meeting ended-with a
small band of critics booming
"Gates got to go!" and camera
lights glaring-Gates was besieged
with questions from r~porters
about calls for his resignation and
Bradley's remarks.
Gates strained a smile and tried
to brush aside the questions as he
made his way out of the chambers,
accompanied by a circle of plainclothes
police officers·and aides.
But the protesters and the pha- ·
lanx of local and nationa1 media
pursued the chief down hallways
and stairwells, out of City Hall and
a full block to the front door of
Parker Center.
In stark contrast to the reception
G_ates received earlier in the day,
h1s remarks to a group of about 80
business leaders dining at the Los
Angeles Hilton on Wednesday
night were frequently interrupted
by applause and laughter. A reporter
was barred from the meeting
but could hear the reception
from the hotel lobby.
Afterward, city; Parks and Recreation
Commissioner Richard
Riorqan said Gates got a "very
positive and very constructive reception.
• . • They were very, very
supportive."
Leaving the hotel, Gates said:
"I'm always encouraged when I
have my friends around me-people
who support me and, more
importantly, who support the Po-
___ lice Department."
:fie added, "no one asked me if
;;:y~~:,!?g, but I told them, 'I'm
Also on Wednesday, the direc-
. tprs of the Los Angeles Police
Protective League voted to contin-.
ue paying legal fees for the indicted
officers. League President
George Aliano said police officers
need to know "that if that hap~
pened to them, they'd have a place
togo."