Picking a new LAPD chief

There was a time in the not very distant past when the Los Angeles Police Department was about as popular with some city residents as U.S. troops are with the people of Baghdad. It was accountable only to itself, and home to far too many officers who savagely beat suspects, planted evidence, stole cocaine from evidence lockers or extorted money from drug dealers. It's a tribute to Chief William J. Bratton that such problems -- though many came to light only a decade ago when the Rampart scandal shocked the city -- now seem like ancient history. Yet Bratton is about to become history himself, at least as far as L.A. is concerned.

Bratton's departure at the end of October, when he will leave to join a private security firm in New York, presents a major test for the city's Police Commission and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. If they are to avoid an unpleasant return to the past, they'll have to sidestep political forces that have prompted poor choices by their predecessors. Fortunately, thanks to Bratton, they're in a strong position to pick a chief based on his or her competence rather than politics.

The search is being conducted by the city's personnel department, which is slated to submit the names of about a dozen top contenders to the Police Commission in early October. Meanwhile, residents get to put in their two cents: On Wednesday, the commission will hold the third of five meetings across the city to query Angelenos about what qualities they desire in a police chief. At the end of the process, the commission will submit its top three picks to Villaraigosa, who will make his choice, subject to approval by the City Council.

It wasn't always done this way. Before 1992, picking a police chief resembled a university admissions system more than a political contest. Applicants were tested via civil service exams. The Police Commission then chose from among the top scorers. Once hired, the chief enjoyed civil service protection that insulated him from discipline or firing without "good and sufficient cause." It wasn't until 1991 that it became clear how dangerous it was to make a police chief so unaccountable to the public. In the wake of the Rodney King beating, Mayor Tom Bradley demanded Chief Daryl F. Gates' resignation, but Gates refused. Without legal cause to fire the chief, Bradley's hands were tied. He and Gates eyed each other suspiciously for more than a year without speaking; when the riots erupted in 1992, the city's top leaders were out of touch with one another. The city paid the price.