Majority backs new term for Bratton

Whites strongly favor giving Chief William J. Bratton a second term at the helm of the Los Angeles Police Department, but his support is considerably softer among minorities, an independent survey of city residents has found.

Overall, 53% of residents said they support giving the chief a new five-year term, according to the survey conducted by the Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. But the survey of 1,600 residents, to be released today, also found views on the chief diverge sharply by race.

While 68% of whites support Bratton's reappointment, fewer than half the minorities surveyed said they favor a second term for the chief: 47% of Korean Americans, 44% of African Americans and 45% of Latinos.

Many minority residents have not yet made up their minds, indicating the chief still has a chance to win their confidence.

His reappointment was opposed by 36% of African Americans, 28% of Latinos, 14% of Korean Americans and 10% of whites, with others saying they are undecided.

The Police Commission is to decide during the next month whether to award Bratton a new contract. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other civic leaders support Bratton's reappointment.

"Today only 53%, a slim majority of Angelenos, support Bratton's reappointment as opposed to the overwhelming support expressed by L.A. city leaders," said Fernando Guerra, director of the center.

Overall, only 21% of residents surveyed opposed Bratton's reappointment, with the rest undecided, Guerra said.

"The plurality of blacks, Latinos and Korean Americans support Chief Bratton's reappointment," Guerra said. However, he added, the "variation in ethnic support should be considered during the police chief reappointment process."

Bratton, in his application letter to the Police Commission last week, acknowledged the challenge of winning over minority residents, who have traditionally mistrusted the LAPD because of a history of police abuses.

"I have worked tirelessly, and I believe successfully, to improve relationships between the Los Angeles Police Department and the many diverse communities of this great city," Bratton wrote.

The commission will hold an April 30 public hearing on Bratton's reappointment. The hearing will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Department of Water and Power headquarters, 111 N. Hope St.