Chastised by a state senator for overturning a policy that made public the names of officers in shooting reports, the Los Angeles Police Commission decided Monday to call for the release of a legal opinion central to its decision.
Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) appeared before the commission and said that if it did not resume releasing the names because members were unsure what state law allowed, she would introduce legislation to clarify the public's right to know which officers are firing their weapons.
"I do not believe that we want to send a message that we want to begin a new era of cover-ups or the perception of such," said Romero, who also complained that the decision was originally made behind closed doors.
The senator first made her criticisms known in a letter to the commission Friday.
Shortly before Romero spoke Monday, the commission agreed to waive the attorney-client privilege that kept the legal opinion confidential. The City Council, whose waiver is also needed, is expected to meet on the issue today.
Commissioners also said they would be open to reconsidering the policy change based on testimony from legal experts and others who they hope will attend a public hearing at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at Parker Center.
"I'm always ready to rethink decisions," said Commissioner Andrea Sheridan Ordin. "I think it's appropriate to be open."
Romero told the commission during a special meeting Monday that the legal opinion from City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo appears to give the panel a "choice to go into the dark and not release names, or a choice to remain fully in the sunshine."
The commission vote to waive the privilege was 3 to 0.
"The advice that has been given to us is a matter of public interest," said Ordin, who also is a business attorney who served on a panel that investigated the Los Angeles Police Department after the 1991 police beating of Rodney G. King. "It is a complex opinion, and one that warrants being read by the public."
Romero said her reading of the law is that it does not specifically require that officers' names be kept confidential, and judges in several courts in other cases have ruled in favor of disclosure.
"I'm ready to work with you if you feel any clarification of the law or strengthening of the law needs to occur," Romero told the commission.
Late Monday, the commission's vote to call for releasing the 13-page legal opinion was applauded by the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
