Acting in apparent response to their union's strategy for pressuring the city into a pay raise, small but higher than usual numbers of Los Angeles police officers began calling in sick late Monday night, kicking off a two-day "blue flu."
In anticipation of the sickout, the Police Department's top command called a modified tactical alert, keeping Monday night-shift officers on duty at the end of their shifts until further notice.
The department also activated its Emergency Operations Center in the Civic Center, which is usually employed in disasters.
"We will see to it that the average citizen calling in for police assistance will not be affected," said Cmdr. Dave Gascon.
Gascon said that the city attorney's office will be seeking a temporary restraining order in court this morning.
Scattered numbers of officers called in sick before the Tuesday "a.m. watch" shift, which began at 11 p.m. Monday. The union had instructed officers to call in sick on alternating shifts through Wednesday, a technique that would allow the LAPD to maintain staffing by paying large amounts of overtime.
Leaders of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents 7,500 rank-and-file officers, had predicted that more than half their members would participate in the sickout.
Gascon said he would not give any figures on absenteeism but "in some divisions there was none and others it's above average." He said the department's computer system was not able to supply accurate figures.
However, in one division, communications, at Parker Center, only two of 22 officers on the morning watch showed up for work, according to an officer who asked not to be identified.
Earlier Monday, leaders of the union and LAPD commanders faced off in a tense game of brinkmanship, with the department laying plans to punish officers who participated in the job action and union leaders pledging to proceed anyway.
"Our officers are fed up and they're frustrated," said police union President David Zeigler. "This is why we're doing what we are doing. We've been forced into it by the city."
Sources within the LAPD said supervisors were personally warning officers that anyone who calls in sick as part of the blue flu could be subjected to an internal affairs investigation.
Some supervisors warned that those found guilty of faking an illness could be fired or denied promotions, according to officers who say they were pulled aside Friday or during the weekend. In addition to paying officers overtime to fill some absences, the LAPD also plans to ask reserves to report for duty, a move that many reserves have vowed to resist.
The city's aggressive response to the threatened job action angered leaders of the police union, who vowed to press ahead with their plans and pledged to provide full legal assistance to any officer who is disciplined for calling in sick. League leaders sharply disputed contentions that the blue flu will endanger public safety or violate any labor laws.
Threats of retaliation have "made officers angry," Zeigler said, predicting that 70% of all police officers will call in sick this week. "Our officers know what their rights are."
The blue flu, which league officials called after a survey of the rank and file revealed strong support for the tactic, represents the league's most confrontational move in its escalating attempt to force city leaders to grant police officers a pay raise.
Despite promises from the league that public safety will not be put at risk, plans for sickout drew fire from Police Chief Willie L. Williams, Police Commission President Gary Greenebaum, City Council members and other city leaders.
Captains from each of the LAPD's geographic areas gathered at Parker Center on Monday afternoon to discuss the department's response, while city officials at all levels braced for the possible fallout.
Mayor Richard Riordan said he would try to include a pay hike for police officers, who have not received a raise in more than two years, in the budget that takes effect in July.
Although Riordan said he sympathized with police officers, he called the blue flu an illegal job action.
"This is coming out of frustration," Riordan said in his first public comments about the labor negotiations. "I think it's very important that we all get together soon, sit down and work out a contract. We will meet with them this week, next week, and I'm confident we will have a contract soon."
Beginning patrol officers in Los Angeles make $33,157--more than officers in some of the nation's larger police departments. But they have slipped to eighth in pay among the 10 largest police departments in California, where some starting officers make up to $10,000 more annually than Los Angeles police.
Riordan's comments were echoed by Williams, who has supported officers' requests for a raise but who strongly opposes the job action.
