officers - The Black Vault

\
'
I , .. ..
',
"'*..-~ ~
•
•
... '1.- •
Feldman said the recall campaign
"will focus on the failure of
the mayor to exercise professional
leadership and statesman-like conduct
in the aftermath of the Rodney
King incident. It will also focus
on his obviously bia$ed appointments
to the Los 4ngeles Police
Commission.''
Aliano and others have said
Bradley's recent appointments to
the Police Commission make it
clear that the mayor . wants a
commission that will be tougher Qn
Gates. They are also critical of
Bradley's eventual public call for
Gates to resign at? wne of crisis.
While the police union will be "a
very important aspect of the recall
effort," Feldman said he was trY·.
· ing to line up other groups to lend
support including "homeowners :
groups, police booster clubs,
women's groups,.chambers of crol!l- .
merce." ....
Aliano's remarks come only two
days after Bradley and Gates declared
a public truce: .
' "I'm not part of the truce, and I ·
don't work for the chief," Aliano
said. "My members explained to me
what it is they want~ and that's
what we'll do."
Bradley spokesman Bill Chandler
said the mayor had no t:omment
on the police recall effort.
"The vast majority of the people of
this city support the mayor's position
that the chief of police should
resign, and the vast majority support
the position of the Police
Commission," Chandler said.
Some interpreted talk of recalling
Bradley as an attempt to deflect
attention from the videotaped
beating of King on March 3.
Joseph Dufft pr~sident of the Los
Angeles Chapter of the NAACP,
called the recall threat an effort to
"twist the democratic process."
He added; "Police officers should :
not be involved in politics, from the ·
chief on down-that's exactly what
the problem js right now."
Sgt. O'Neil Carter, spokesman
1for an African~American police
officers' organization representing
about 500 of the 1,100 black 'officers
on the ·force, agreed saying: "Our
position stands. We ~e staying
away from the polit,ics involved in
this issue." .
Los Angeles Police Detective '
Bill Whittaker expreSsed a different
sentiment when he left the first
of two union meetings held last
Thursday at the Los Angeles Convention
Center. "Tne mood here is
that we are very concerned about
moves on the part of the mayor and
the Police Commission," Whittaker
said.
Three · additional meetings are
scheduled to be held today at the
Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City
and at Parker Center.
! .
'
I.
I