The controversy started when deputy district attorneys said Parks had ordered his detectives to deny them access to information regarding the unfolding corruption investigation. Prosecutors said they were told by LAPD officials that because the U.S. attorney's office had joined the probe, the LAPD would send all information to federal authorities instead of the district attorney.
That information included audiotapes, shooting reports and other documents in the department's possession.
"We have a department out of control--or trying to control everything," Garcetti charged at the time.
LAPD officials, including a deputy chief, initially confirmed in a Times article published March 15 that Parks had cut off the flow of information to the district attorney's office, saying they would have to get their information from the U.S. attorney.
Later that day, Parks held a news conference outside the Rampart Division police station to deny that he was withholding information and to accuse Garcetti of making "totally untrue" statements.
Garcetti countered by providing the Police Commission with a package of statements from several prosecutors detailing instances in which they had allegedly been denied information. The commission asked the inspector general to investigate the matter and ordered Parks to cooperate with Garcetti.
Still Parks did not relent in his attack on the county's top prosecutor.
"If we have made a mistake in this process so far it is getting involved in a verbal dispute with a person who has a sagging political future," Parks said at a March 17 news conference, moments before pledging to stop his criticisms of his counterpart.
As part of his 10-month investigation into the controversy, Eglash interviewed nearly 30 people from the district attorney's office, the state attorney general's office, the mayor's office and the LAPD, including Parks and Garcetti.
Representatives from the district attorney's office and the attorney general's office flatly contradicted statements made by Parks and his command staff about their level of cooperation with local prosecutors. Letters generated by LAPD officials also appeared to refute Parks and his command staff when they later said they never sought to deny prosecutors access to information.
In his interview with the inspector general's office, Parks denied any wrongdoing, according to the report.
