officers - The Black Vault

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ty organizer challenging Eastside
Councilman Alatorre in the 14th
District.
Referring to ~he $11.3 million
that the city spent on ·police-related
legal settlements and awards
last year, GutieRuiz said: "That
money could have been put into
foot patrols."
Some candidates say that police
conduct in the King incident sets a
· bad example and makes it more
difficult to persuade impressionable
youths to refrain from anti­
. social behavior.
Last week, Ridley-Thomas addressed
a group of 30 pastors in a
. South-Central church, saying:
"You cannot inspire law-abiding
citizenship when the police· force
responsible for upholding the law
violates the law in such a flagrant
and abusive way. You can't handle
gang violence when in· [LAPD's]
Foothill [Division], damn, you've
got police officers acting in ways
that are worse than gang members
in some instances."
The King case could even have a
fallout on the normally coveted
endorsements from the Police Protective
League, which is paying
legal fees for the indicted officers.
"At this point in time it's clearly
a negative," said former mayoral
aide Tavis Smiley, who is challenging
first-term Westside Councilwoman
Galanter. "This community
has generally been supportive of
the LAPD. We need them, it's not
an anti-police community. But individuals
are concerned about the
King incident. ·
"[Galanter's] first mailer after
the beating was an. endorsement
from the Protective League. I got a
ton of phone calls from people who
asked, 'What is she, crazy?' "
Fellow 6tl1 District challenger
Mary Lee Gray, .. who says the'
chief's job should be changed to an
elective post, .questioned whether
Galanter can remain opjective. '
when she · is supported by the
Protective League.
"This is the same group of people
who support Gates and the police
regardles~ of what they've done,"
said Gray, senior deputy to county
Supervisor Deane Dana. "So if they
are supporting Ruth Galanter, I
would imagine her hands are tied."
Galanter said that such contentions
are ridiculous. "All of the
police officers that · I've worked
with in the community are wellliked
by the citi.zens they work
with," she said. "Their support. will
help." ·
. Four years ago, Galanter became
the focus of the city's festering
crime problem when she was
stabbed in the throat by a drugabusil)g
former ·gang member who
broke into her home .in the middle
of the night. Police were summoned
by neighbors who heard her
screams and house alarm.
I
n . her current campaign; the
Venice resident has "stressed the
effectiveness. of Neighborhdod
Watch-type community organiza- ·
tions. "I'm ·a living testimonialthank
God it's 'living-to the fact
that Neighborhood Watch groups
can really make a difference," she
said .. "My life was saved by my
neighbors."
In races across the city, candidates
are calling for hiring more
officers, beefed-up foot patrols and
a stronger commitment to job
training and recreational programs
to encourage teens to turn away. ·
from gangs, drugs and violence. ;··
"We need jobs for young people,"
said Smiley. "They. want a
sense of belonging. When we can't
give them something to work on
for eight hotirs a day, five days a
week, they beat someone else on
the head and take what they
have."
Korenstein and Maddox, ·among
·others, say that some funds controlled
by the Community Rede­
·velopment Agency should be targeted
for child care, after-school
recreation and job training.
Billy Mills, an 8th District candi­
·date, said the impact of crime is
evident as he and others campaign.
'"We see people who 'won't even
open their doors for candidates,"
said Mills, whose father served on
the City Council. "So the crime
issue always confronts you."