Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn is pushing to abolish the internal Police Department board that metes out punishment for police misconduct and replace it with a civilian review system, saying that the move would help mend morale among rank-and-file officers.
The change would strip Police Chief Bernard C. Parks of the authority to make the final decision about the fate of wayward officers, a significant move that would require a voter-approved charter amendment and probably irk Parks, who has resisted efforts to increase civilian participation on the board.
Hahn's attempt to dramatically change the discipline system illuminates the shifting relationship between the mayor and the chief, who must decide in the next few months whether he wants to seek a renewal of his contract.
Though Hahn was considered Parks' strongest ally among the six mayoral candidates last spring, since he has taken office the mayor has lobbied for several policies opposed by the chief, such as a flexible work schedule for police officers. Parks agreed to implement the shortened workweek, although he had criticized the concept as one that would take officers off the street.
The police chief did not have a comment Friday on the mayor's latest proposal, other than to say that he would work with the Police Commission to study the issue. As of Friday afternoon, Hahn and Parks had not discussed it.
Hahn said it is essential to replace the current system because it is viewed as capricious and harsh by rank-and-file officers and distrusted by the public. Currently, officers accused of serious misconduct are ordered by their captain or the police chief to appear before a Board of Rights, which consists of two police command officers and one civilian.
The mayor said officers believe they are handed overly punitive sentences by commanders on the board trying to curry favor with Parks, who is known as a strict disciplinarian. Regardless of whether that is true, Hahn said, the fact that rank-and-file officers believe it has contributed to a serious morale problem.
"You're not going to ever change that perception," Hahn said in an interview Friday.
"My experience as being the city's lawyer for 16 years and a prosecutor leads me to believe that the present system just isn't working," he added. "It doesn't give the public the confidence in the department . . . and the officers think the deck is stacked against them."
