officers - The Black Vault

FD·350 {Rev. 5·8·81)
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Text of Mayor's Statement
Here is the text of Mayor Tom Bradley's caU for Police. Chief IJaryl
F. Gates to resign:
Today I met with Police Chief Daryl Gates. At that meeting I
called upon Mr. Gates to resign as chief of police. .
I did so because the Los Angeles Police Department is at a
crossroads in its great history. As an LAPD veteran, I empathize
with the thousands of honorable officers who have watched ·~G..
helplessly as the department's prestige has been seriously :.;
tarnished. The men and women of the Police Department are on
the str~ets ev~ry day, doing the tough, pirty and dangerous
business of fighting crime. These officers deserve the best. The
damage to the department's reputation cannot continue. My
priority is to restore the public's confidence in the cop on the
street. · . .
Our city must also begin to heal its wounds. My duty as mayor is
to all of Los Angeles. I simply will not stand by as our city is split
apart. We must come together. We must heal. .
I have said time and time again that this healing cannot
begin-that the Police Department's reputation cannot be
restored-as long as Daryl Gates is at the center of the storm of
protests. The public has lost confidence in large measure in Chief
Gates since Rodney King was beaten. I have asked him to show
the uncommon courage to retire for the good of the Police
Department and the welfare of all of Los Angeles.
S
ince llegally cannot remove the chief, I have waited patiently
for him to. see that by remaining on the job he is hurtin_g the
men and women of the Police Department he loves so much.
Unfortunately, Chief Gates has not recognized the impact he is
having on the Police Department.
Instead, Chief Gates has embarked upon a public relations
campaign that has only deepened our wounds and widened our
differences. His reactions to the tragic Rodney King Qeating have
made an ugly situation even worse. Chief Gates has portrayed the
public's outrage over the beating as a personal attack on himself
and the department. That is not the case, and to suggest otherwise
does a disservice to the Police Department and to the people of Los
Angeles.
As mayor, I have reluctantly concluded that I can no longer wait
for Daryl Gates to do what is best for the Police Department. I can
no longer count on him-to act in the best interests of all of Los
Angeles. .
That is why, today, I called upon Daryl Gates to resign. Chief
Gates is a public official, and he owes a special responsibility to the
·public he has sworn to serve. When the public begins to lose
confidence in the chief, and in the Police Department, the chief has
only one choice. He must step aside. He must allow the winds of
change to blow across the Police Department, to refresh its
officers, and to restore the department's vigor and reputation.
Chief Gates, now is the time for you to do the right thing-for
your officers, for your department, for the public you serve.
(lcate page, name of
newspaper, -city and state.)
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Date: WED APRIL 3 19 91
Edition: FRONT SECTION 1
PAGE 11
Tille: TEXT OF MAYOR' S STATEr·1ENT
CIVIL RIGHTS
Character:
or
ClassificationS 0-3 3 B
Submitting Office:
IDS ANGELES
Indexing:
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SFJUAUZED·--- fllE0·----1
APR 1 0 1991
FBI - LOS ANGELES ~
FBI/OOJ