Allegations of police abuse during the MacArthur Park immigration rally have thrust Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton into a political minefield where he must address concerns about out-of-control cops without alienating his force of 9,500 officers.
Public outrage over the violence -- 30 civilians were struck by police officers wielding batons and firing foam projectiles -- occurred just as the Police Commission was poised to reappoint him to a second five-year term.
Bratton was careful to measure his words but wasted no time declaring that his department won't tolerate what he called the disturbing tactics captured on news videos and broadcast worldwide.
Bratton's recent predecessors, Bernard C. Parks, Willie L. Williams and Daryl F. Gates, were ousted in part because they failed to maintain adequate support from not only city residents and elected leaders but also from the Police Department's rank and file.
In the cases of Parks and Gates, confidence in them plummeted over their response to allegations of police misconduct; for Parks it centered on disclosures of corrupt and brutal officers in the Rampart Division; for Gates it was the beating of Rodney G. King.
Bratton's handling of the May Day controversy is testing all of his political skills and proving to be his most significant challenge since becoming chief in 2002.
Late Thursday, the board of directors of the Police Protective League, the police union, fired off a letter seeking an apology and warning that the 59-year-old chief was treading in dangerous territory by making remarks denigrating the character of police.
"It's quite a tightrope he's walking right now," said attorney Constance L. Rice, who has studied LAPD management for years. "Bratton has to signal that he gets it, that mindless unprovoked use of force is not acceptable. But he also needs to reach out to the union and acknowledge that they are partners in public safety who need to get onboard with the program."
Some supporters believe the savvy Bratton will find a way back to safe ground, having benefited from years of experience in the political hothouse of New York, where he previously headed the Police Department in a tabloid-heavy atmosphere.
Those backers point to how Bratton has avoided some of the mistakes of his predecessors by not denying the seriousness of the problem and by putting in motion investigations to hold officers accountable for any wrongdoing.
"I've never seen any public official engage in the outreach over a crisis that Bill Bratton has in the last 10 days," said City Councilman Jack Weiss.
However, Bratton's early actions -- his swift condemnation of some officers and a reshuffling of his command staff -- have had only moderate success in quelling the cries of activists.
During a meeting last week, two former chairpersons of the LAPD's Hispanic Forum, a group of community leaders invited to advise the chief on local issues, called for him to quit.
"We unloaded on him," said Xavier Hermosillo, who heads an advertising agency. "We told him 'you've got to go.' " Lenore Solis, another former chairperson, agreed with his stand.
And Bratton's strong language has infuriated many rank-and-file officers. When the chief sidelined about 60 officers from the elite Metropolitan Division, which provided the crowd control squad in MacArthur Park, many of their co-workers were upset. Some called for a vote of no confidence in the chief, placing pickets in front of police headquarter at Parker Center or calling for a period of "by the book" policing in which officers make only a minimal effort to enforce the law.
So far, union officials have quashed those proposals out of concern that they would further hurt the image of the police.
"The officers are just outraged," said Bob Baker, president of the union. "To go on a tirade and make accusations about every police officer is not acceptable.... If he continues to go down this road, he's going to be in serious trouble with the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department."
Police officials have noted that seven officers were injured by bottles and rocks thrown by some in the MacArthur Park crowd.
Officers were particularly incensed with a statement Bratton made last week in which he said: "One thing I know about [police] is you have to control them, because they go out of control faster than any human being in the world."
In the letter to Bratton late Thursday, the union leadership said, "Impeaching the emotional maturity of the men and women who serve Los Angeles under your command only weakens the mutual trust that is necessary to keep this department working smoothly and protecting the city."
Bratton said the situation involving MacArthur Park required him to talk frankly to the public.
"I've been doing this for 25 years. One of the things about a crisis is you don't circle the wagons," Bratton said. "You don't get on the defensive. You basically go on offense. So here there is a lot of outreach."
