officers - The Black Vault

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fi0·3So (Rev. 5-8·81 I
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(Indicate page, name of
newspaper, city and state.)
MaYor's Tactics'"
Are-Unfair,
Gates Charges
By GLENN F. BUNTING
and RICH CONNELL
TIMES STAff' WRITERS
Police Chief Daryl F. Gates went
'On the offensive Wednesday night
with a scathing attack on Mayor
Tom Bradley's call for his resignation.
"I know, clearly, there is. an
orchestrated campaign," Gates
said. "It is evident to everyone. I
think the City Council ·is voicing
outrage over it, and well they
should. It's not helping the city."
Gates called the mayor's tactics
"unfair" in an interview Wednesday
night after he appeared on
ABC's Nightline program. It was
.his strongest response to the mayor's
demand Tuesday for his resignation.
"The unfairness is that when the
mayor talks about the healing
process, how can you heal when
you keep jabbing at the wound?
You can't heal," Gates said. ·
What Bradley should have done,·
the chief said, was sit down with
• COMMISSION'S ROLE
:·. Police Commission will meet
toda:y on Chief Gates' fate. A21
him and "figure out if we have a
probiem here." . .
"That would have brought the
city together," Gates said. "That is
true leadership. Unfortunately, the
mayor is not providing true l_eadership."
Gates said he supports an independent
review of police conduct
in the wake of the March 3 beating
of motorist Rodney G. King. And,
the chief said, if the inquiry finds
that he has not exercised appropriate
control over the department "I
would say, 'Mayor ... I'm gone.'"
Gates said he believes some
people are advising the mayor
"improperly."
"If the mayor's really interested
in healing the city he ought to go
·about doing that," Gate.s said.
The chief questioned why Bradley
would appoint an independent
(Mount Clipping in Space Below)
cpmmission one day and then "preempt"
the panel the next day by .
asking for his resignation.
He suggested that Bradley reacted
to Councilman Mike Woo's
appearances in the black community
last weekend during which he
called for Gates to step down.
·"I think that is nonsense," Gates
said. "Let's . . . hold down the
rhetoric, and I think we'll all be
better off."
Bradley's call for Gates to resign
has turned the King .affair into a
fierce clash between two of the
city's most powerful figures and it
threatens to further divide Los·
Angeles, community leaders said
Wednesday. Gates' remarks about·
the mayor Wednesday night only
underscored that contention.
Moving rapidly ahead on an
elaborate campaign that began a·
month ago, the mayor and his staff ·
have cranked up the pressure on
the police chief tiy fueling public,
criticism of him while working·
behind the scenes to seek his
ouster, said City Hall sources who
requested anonymity.
The climax of these efforts may
come ~s early as today, when
. Bradley's appointees on the Police
Commission meet in a closed session.
·
But Gates, as he indicated with
his latest counterpunch late
Wednesday, has vowed to fight.
UQtil the end. .
Immediately after the mayor:
called for hjs resignation Tuesday,~
Gates alluded to the ethics contra- '
versies that have dogged Bradley ·.
for the last two years. Gates'
department is investigating campaign
fund raising by tlie mayor's ·
aides and appo~ntees, as well as
allegations of corruption that involve
Bradley himself.
Gates has hired an attorney to
defend him against any possible
.disciplinary actions by the Police
Commission. . .
And Eric Rose, who advised
·Gates during his exploratory campaign
for governor in 1988, said he
was "asked by the chief's office" to
handle media relations work for
LOS ANGELES TI!I1ES
Date: THURS APRIL 4 1 19 91
Edition: Front Section 1 Page 1
Tltle: MAYOR'S TACTICS ARE
UNFAIR, GATES CHARGES
Character:CIVIL RIGHTS
Cla:ifteation: 8 O-3 3 B
Submitting Office:
IDS ANGELES
Indexing:
SEARCHED·---rl-::-- ~DEXED ./
SERIAliZED : ~ .. e..-rll£0'.;). C -
APR 1 2 1991
FBI -
LOS ANGELES
I~
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the newly formed Citizens in Sup­
. ·port of the Chief of Police.
A police spokesman, however,
denied that such sanction was
granted to Rose, although he ac­
' knowledged that the chief's office
had discussed the possibility with
Rose. . .
Bradley accused Gates on Tues­
.·day of embarking "on a public ·
relations campaign that has only
,'·deepened our woun$ and widened
our differences.'-'
,, But Bradley's decision to call for
:·.Gates to step down after four
·weeks of refusing to .do so is
· similarly disruptive, several prom­
, inent city leaders said.
"I think the strategy failed," said
Councilwoman Joy Picus, who favors
the chief remaining in office.
"The mayor has focused attacks on
Daryl Gates .. ~ and further polarized
the city.'' ·
One longtime Bradley backer
and city commissioner said: "I have
·not met anybody in the business
Establishment who supports the
mayor on this. . , . I think Tom
made a terrible mistake."
The city is already torn over the
King beating, said Woo, the only
other city official so far to call1or
Gates to resign. - · ,
"I think the mayor deserves
credit for 'taking a courageous
stand on a very controversial issue
in this city," Woo said. "He has
been criticized throughout his career
for . not being outspoken
enough. Now people criticize him
:for taking a bold stand.''
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FBI/OOJ