An effort to reopen public access to police disciplinary hearings and records in Los Angeles gained momentum Monday when a prominent state senator announced that she would introduce legislation aimed at restoring transparency.
Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) said she would put forward a bill by the end of the month to supplant a California Supreme Court ruling last August that led officials to restrict access to police personnel records and disciplinary hearings once open to the public.
"If we fail to restore a proper balance, we fall into a state which sanctions and knowingly runs essentially a secret police," Romero said at a news conference before a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in the Crenshaw district. "We have progressed too far to settle for secrecy."
Police unions immediately declared their opposition. They said greater openness in confidential police matters would put officers in danger from criminals intent on doing harm -- although in past interviews union officials have been unable to point to examples in which open proceedings have compromised an officer's safety.
Police Protective League President Bob Baker also insisted that the public's interest is already served by three-member disciplinary Boards of Rights composed of two police officials and one civilian.
"Along with other public safety unions, we will fight any legislative efforts that would reduce or remove this right of privacy," Baker said in a statement.
The California Peace Officers' Assn. could not be reached for comment.
The fight over public access to disciplinary actions stems from the state high court's ruling in Copley Press Inc. vs. Superior Court of San Diego, which restricted public access to law enforcement personnel records.
Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo interpreted the ruling as giving officers broad privacy protections.
Police Chief William J. Bratton and Police Commission President John Mack said they support greater public openness, but were compelled to close disciplinary hearings -- which had been open to the public for decades -- because of legal advice from Delgadillo.
The issue erupted into a public controversy last week after a Board of Rights secretly cleared Officer Steven Garcia in the shooting death of 13-year-old Devin Brown in 2005.
The action came even though the officer's conduct was found to be in violation of department policy by the Police Commission. The city had also agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by Brown's family.
