Ruling in teen's killing spurs outcry

"People are always going to have different views on how cops should be punished for shootings, but all the facts should be out in the open and there ought to be accountability for the ultimate decision-makers," said Councilman Jack Weiss, head of the city's Public Safety Committee.

Weiss said he would hold a joint hearing with the Police Commission in upcoming weeks to discuss ways to make LAPD discipline "more transparent."

Other city officials, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, also said they were disappointed to learn that an internal LAPD disciplinary panel meeting held behind closed doors this week rejected the civilian Police Commission's findings that Officer Steven Garcia should be punished for the Feb. 6, 2005, shooting of Devin Brown.

"I supported the Police Commission decision in this matter," Villaraigosa said. "That should tell you my feelings about this."

Some city leaders were even more outraged that the decision was shrouded in secrecy.

"This lack of public disclosure deepens suspicion in the African American community that the LAPD is more interested in protecting officers than in curbing police abuse," said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable.

Councilman Bernard C. Parks, who led the LAPD from 1997 to 2002, said holding disciplinary hearings in private undermines confidence in the Police Department.

"After 30 years of progressive efforts to make the public aware, we've had a complete reversal," Parks said. "This is unraveling decades of hard-fought battles."

Although disciplinary hearings have historically been open to the public, police officials changed department policy late last year in response to a state Supreme Court ruling that restricted access to law enforcement personnel records in a San Diego case.

Parks said the LAPD is going beyond what the court decided in that case -- Copley vs. Superior Court -- noting that the ruling "specifically says it does not address meetings."