Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton was endorsed for a second term Tuesday by 13 of the 15 City Council members after a hearing at which some nevertheless complained that his department is not doing enough to address the concerns of minority communities.
"Working with this chief, Los Angeles has brought crime to a 50-year low," said council President Eric Garcetti. "I support his reappointment, and I look forward to an open discussion in council chambers about how we can address the problems, such as youth homicide and domestic violence, that remain."
Garcetti and others expressed support for Bratton in interviews after a hearing on the chief's reappointment in which a few council members aired gripes about the department. The council ended the hearing after more than an hour without taking an official position on the reappointment, which the city's civilian Police Commission is expected to approve as early as Tuesday.
The council could get involved only if a two-thirds majority objected and voted to overturn the reappointment. But interviews with council members and their representatives showed that most support the chief.
Besides Garcetti, other council members saying they support a second term were Janice Hahn, Ed Reyes, Jack Weiss, Wendy Greuel, Jan Perry, Bill Rosendahl, Greig Smith, Jose Huizar, Tony Cardenas, Dennis Zine, Herb Wesson and Tom LaBonge.
Councilman Richard Alarcon was traveling and unavailable for comment. Councilman Bernard C. Parks declined to comment.
Still, some members wanted to weigh in with concerns they have heard from constituents, saying some communities, including areas of South Los Angeles, remain highly dissatisfied with the LAPD under Bratton.
Parks, who lost the police chief job in 2002 to Bratton, initiated the hearing, saying people he represents in South L.A. think the department has not been tough enough in taking disciplinary action against officers accused of misconduct.
He also said the department appears to be "misleading" the public on how far crime has dropped.
Parks brought in pollsters from the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, who found in a survey that fewer than half of African American residents said they support giving Bratton another term and that many others are undecided.
