The Los Angeles Police Department's system for disciplining officers is so slow and ineffective that Chief William J. Bratton should circumvent it and impose his own punishment on problem officers, a federal monitor concludes in a report released Monday.
Michael Cherkasky, who was appointed by a federal judge to oversee how the LAPD handles reforms stemming from the Rampart corruption scandal, urged Bratton to reduce the pay or confiscate the weapons and badges of officers he suspends for misconduct.
Cherkasky's report adds another prominent voice to a movement to fundamentally change the way LAPD officers are disciplined. Bratton himself, along with some police commissioners, has proposed giving the chief final authority on punishment. Some community activists also are pushing for an amendment to the City Charter to change the discipline process.
Currently, officers accused of violating department policy are removed from patrol but often wait a year or more before a Board of Rights determines what punishment, if any, they should receive. The chief and Police Commission make a recommendation on punishment, but it is up to the Board of Rights -- made up of two high-ranking officers and a civilian -- to make the final call.
Cherkasky said that until the system is changed, Bratton should use other powers at his disposal, such as reducing pay, to hold officers accountable.
Bratton could not be reached for comment Monday, so it remained unclear whether the chief will embrace the recommendations. Cherkasky's suggestions, however, carry significant weight because the LAPD needs the monitor to eventually conclude that the department has complied with a federal judge's reform program.
The LAPD's disciplinary policies came under criticism two years ago, when the Board of Rights cleared Officer Edward Larrigan in the May 21, 1999, fatal shooting of Margaret Mitchell, a mentally ill homeless woman.
Larrigan and his partner initially stopped Mitchell, 55, near 4th Street and La Brea Avenue to determine whether she had stolen a shopping cart that she was pushing. The 5-foot-2-inch Mitchell pulled a 12-inch-long screwdriver from the cart and waved it at the officers before allegedly moving toward Larrigan. The officer, who said he feared for his life, fatally shot her.
The Police Commission ruled that the shooting violated LAPD regulations, but the Board of Rights found the shooting to be justified.
