officers - The Black Vault

whet11er'there were grounds to disrlliss
Gates.
~~~ have not examined all of the
evtdence to determine that " Bradl~y
sa!d. "That is something that
hes wtthin the jurisdiction of the .
~olice Commission, and I will not
Interfere with their decision."
The commission began reviewing
possible disciplinary action against
Gates shortly after the March 3
beating of King, 25, by police officers
following a traffic stop in Lake
View Terrace. Four police officers
have been indicted in the incident
- captured on videotape by a bystander
- and a Los Angeles
County grand jury is reviewing
charges against up to 17 others who
witnessed the events but did not intervene.
.
Bradley joined a growing number
of community leaders who have
called on Gates to resign, but the
chief insists he has done nothing
wrong and will not step down unless
asked to by members of two citizens
panels investigating the inci-
'dent. ·
In the wake of the King beating,
Bradley nominated longtime liberal
activist Stanley Sheinbaum to fill
one of two vacancies on the Police
Commission. Two other commissionA-
lobbyist Dan Garcia and
Lomll!l'a longtime civil rights advocate
- were appointed by Bradley
last year with specific direction
to take a tougher look at LAPD policies.
The fourth member of the Police
Commission is Sam Williams, and
a fifth member has not yet been nominated.
Because of Sheinbaum's long affiliation
with the American Civil
Liberties Union - which has
called for Gates to resign - some
council members question whether
his appointment to· the Police Commission
is fair to the chief.
"I'm leaning against voting for
him," said Councilwoman Joan
Milke Flores.
The City Council postponed until
today a scheduled confirmation.·
hearing for Sheinbaum on Tuesday.
Council president John Ferraro
asked for the delay, saying Councilman
Richard Alatorre, who heads
the council's Public Safety Committee
and supports the appointment,
was absent Tuesday because
ofillness. ·
The Public Safety Committee
has endorsed Sheinbaum, but it
. was unclear whether there are
enough votes to support his no~i-"'-
n}ltion wtltit goes to the full council
today.
In addition to Flores, Council­
~an Ernani Bernardi has questioned
the appointment. Councilman
H~l Be~son, vyho is seeking
re-electiOn, said Shembaum is un-
. acceptable and predicted a major
battle today over the appointment.
·~you bet there will be a fight " ·
Bernson said. "I'll say it now. r:U
not voting for him." ·
If the Police Commission finds
that there is good cause to remove
Gates, it can relieve him from duty
and refer the matter to the five-
, ::>member Civil Service E:ommission
for a hearing and an order of discipline,
Merkin said:
'·
The Civil Service Commission
could then order that the chief be·
fired or suspended. That order·
would then be sent back to the Police
Commission for execution of
the disciplinary order.
The Police Commission could·
lessen but not increase the penalty. ·
There are four civil service commissioners
now serving - Casi-'
miro Tolentino and Anthony de los
Reyes, who are both attorneys; the·
Rev. Kenneth Flowers, and Julie
Depoian, who runs an employment
agency. · ·
Under the City Charter, only the police and civil service commissions can
lire or discipline the police chief .. Here is the process:
.q;·:
• The Police Commission first must find that there is "good and suftrdent
cause" for discipline, including "actions or omissions by the chief which can
be shown to have been detrimental to the discipline and efficient achieve·
· •· ment of the Police Department's mission to assure public safety," according
to the City Attorney's Office.
• If the Police Commission finds that there is good cause to remove Gates,
it can relieve him of duty and refer the matter to the five-member Civil
·Service Commission for a hearing.
• After a hearing, the Ci\111 Service Commission then could order that the
chief be fired or suspended. · · ·
• The Civil Service Commission action then would be sent back to the Police
Commissi.on to execute the order. The Police Commission could lessen but
not increase the penalty. ·
• Following final action by the Police Commission, the police chief could
appeal a disciplinary action in court.