Police Chiefs

With the clock ticking toward a crucial deadline for Los Angeles Police Chief Willie L. Williams, supporters hailed his record Thursday during an unusual public session that illustrated the tensions in the debate over Williams' expressed intention to seek a second term.

Councilwoman Laura Chick was fighting a bad cold Thursday when a member of the audience asked a question that could have only made her feel worse. A woman attending the San Fernando Valley seniors meeting wanted to know whether Chick would support Police Chief Willie L. Williams for a second term. Williams, the councilwoman replied, has her loyalty and support. That will continue if the Police Commission reappoints him next year. But she said she didn't have a role in determining Williams' fate.

Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn's endorsement last week of Police Chief Willie L. Williams' bid for a second term may buy both men some public support, but it also could end up costing city taxpayers money. Police commissioners say Hahn's public comments about Williams create a clear conflict of interest, preventing his office from giving them objective advice in the process of evaluating the chief's performance and deciding whether to renew his contract.

Deep in the heart of Texas, far from the plains of Oxnard and the California sea breeze, former Oxnard Police Chief Robert Owens has carved out a new life. Now teaching criminal justice at the University of Texas at San Antonio, Owens has replaced a life of investigating homicides and police pursuits for a life of mentoring and academia. Except for the fire ants, scorpions and heat, Owens says he's loving Texas, a state rich in history, culture and legends.

Breaking his silence and touching off a potentially volatile debate at the highest levels of Los Angeles city government, Police Chief Willie L. Williams announced Tuesday that he intends to seek a second five-year term as chief. "It is with great pride and your support that I announce that I will soon be submitting my papers to receive a second term as chief of police," Williams told about 1,000 friends and supporters at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The army general serving as Mexico City police chief announced Tuesday that he has dismissed every top official in his department and replaced them with military officers--a move he said will break up the "brotherhood" of police corruption and abuse that has shattered citizen confidence and security. A month after President Ernesto Zedillo appointed Gen.

Corona Police Capt. Lawrence Lewis, a 25-year veteran of law enforcement, has been selected as the new police chief of Covina. Lewis, 46, who was chosen from 35 candidates, will succeed retiring Police Chief John Lentz in April, said Covina City Manager Fran Delach. Lewis will receive $90,500 annually to oversee the department's 90 employees, including 53 sworn officers.

The field of candidates seeking to be Pasadena's next police chief has been cut to three after City Manager Phil Hawkey eliminated retired San Diego Police Chief Bob Burgreen from the race, city officials said. Still in the running are the Pasadena Police Department's executive commander, Gary Bennett; Santa Monica Police Capt. Barney Melekian and Modesto Police Chief Paul Jefferson, officials said. Jefferson is a former Los Angeles Police Department captain.

Pasadena's new police chief is Bernard K. Melekian, a Santa Monica police captain whose family came to the City of Roses decades ago as refugees, city officials announced Thursday. Melekian, 46, who rose through Santa Monica's ranks to become a captain five years ago, will begin his new duties April 30, said City Manager Philip Hawkey, who made the appointment. Known as an innovator, Melekian succeeds Jerry Oliver, who left the department last May to become police chief in Richmond, Va.

Lawyers, legal scholars and lawmakers were divided Wednesday over LAPD Chief Willie L. Williams' assertion that the state's tough "three-strikes" sentencing law may be partly to blame for a cluster of four police shootings in the San Fernando Valley. Some experts, including the county's chief public defender, agreed that the 2-year-old law had created a sense of desperation among some convicted felons that could lead to more violent resistance.