officers - The Black Vault

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BILL BOYARSKY
The Question
That Joined::,.
the Battle
{Mount Clipping in Space Below)
I
f Jerry Dunphy didn't ignite the
manoa mano struggle between .
Mayor Tom Bradley and Police Chief
Daryl F. Gates, he certainly helped it
along. . · ·
March 19 was the date. Bradley was in
Hawaii helping persuade the National
Football League to play a Super Bowl in
the Rose Bowl. Dunphy, KCAL Charinel
9's veteran anchor, was interviewing the
mayor. via satellite for the 10 p.m.
broadcast, live from Kona.
The Rodney G. King case had taken a
dramatic turn. Newly released police
co~puter tapes revealed cops engaged in
racist chatter. Bradley was under
increasing pressure from L.A.'s liber8.I
leadership, including blacks and Latinos,
to demand Gates' resignation. But the
mayor so far had declined to do so saying
the decision was Gates' and Gates: alone.
Much of journalism is how you ask the
question. Everyone had been asking ·
Bradley whether Gates should go ..
Dunphy put a different spin on it. ·
If the Police Department's policy on
force is modified, he asked, if King is ·
::·'Compensated and the guilty officers .
punished, "then why should Chief Gates
leave?"
Much to Dunphy's surprise, this time
Bradley responded. "We have suffered a
grievous harm and I think it will be years
?,efore that image is corrected," he said:
In order for us to start that beating
process, it is necessary to have some
.drastic changes and I think . . . it would
help in that healing process if the chief
retired.''
"We led him down the path," Dunphy
r~called for me this week, "and led him
nght into it.'' .
0
DoW!) _the path and directly into battle.
KnO\ymg they had something, the .
KCAL news crew worked the story hard
KABC, picking up the KCAL quotes did·
the same on its 11 p.m. news show '
Seeing the way the story was ·
d~veloping, Bradley's press secretary,
Bill Chandler, called television ·stations
and newspapers assuring them the
]Jlayor was not calling for Gates'
·,resignation.
1
"They tried to deny it.~' said Dunphy: :
~ . · "But we played the tape back.''
-~ The mayor's words spoke for
; themselves, and the Bradley position was
.now clear: It was time for Gates to go.
. And now, if Gates did not go, it would
represent a loss for Bradley. He coul~ .
take cover no longer behind his limited
. mayoral powers: His political hide was on
the line. The game had changed.· ._, ":..
It was a complete reversal of form. A . -
secret of the mayor's long success had
been his ability to avoid the fray. As.ira
Reiner once put it, Tom :Sradley never
steps on the battlefield until it's time to
count the wounded. . ·
In fact, t:P,e Bradley assault on Gates
had been following the traditional ·
pa~tern, _with the mayor standing f~
abOve the bloodshed. No wonder tlie
interview caused consternation for 1lls ·
aides. · ·}..,
0
Why did he do it?
One re~on was the question.
. Politicians grow accustomed to hearing
the same old questions. They give the .
same old answers, as if their minds were
on automatic pilot. The reporter who
phrases the question a bit differently
·sometimes gets the honest answer.
That's what happened to Dunphy. It's
easy to make fun of Dunphy, who many
. believe was the inspiration for Ted
Baxter, the not-so-sinart and
all-too-pompous anchor on-the Mary
Tyler Moore Show. He's had lots of
career setbacks, but Dunphy's Irish face
and thick white hair have been·
trade~arks of L.A. TV news through the
·~edium's many transformations, and
he's still an a:t:tchor. In short, Dunphy is a
survivor, and on this night he scored a
COUD.
Date:
Edition:
I
LOS ANGELE.S TIMES
FRI., APRIL 12, 1991
METRO SECTION, PAGE 2
Title:THE QUESTION THAT JOINED
THE BATTLE
Character: CIVIL RIGHTS
01'
Class~i~tionR O _ 3 3 B
Submitting Office:
WS ANGELES
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