Proposition F Police Reform

Advocates and opponents of a plan to change the City Charter to reform the Los Angeles Police Department will square off tonight at a town hall meeting sponsored by the Tarzana Property Owners Assn. The panelists addressing Proposition F on the June 2 ballot will include outgoing Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, Christopher Commission Chairman Warren Christopher, City Councilman Marvin Braude and businessman Donald H. Clinton, owner of Clifton's Cafeterias.

An angry Los Angeles Police Commission voted unanimously Sunday to seek an independent attorney to advise them on how to remove Chief Daryl F. Gates, even as indications arose that the embattled chief will announce today that he is backing down from his threat to hold up the appointment of his successor.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, in Los Angeles on Saturday to campaign for Charter Amendment F, the police reform measure on Tuesday's ballot, took a side trip to Lake View Terrace, where he prayed for an end to injustice at the spot of the Rodney G. King beating. "Keep hope alive," Jackson urged about 100 people who gathered to see him. "Vote for F. Vote for freedom."

During the months of intense campaigning against Charter Amendment F, the police reform measure, campaign operatives pinned their hopes on the San Fernando Valley and the conservative, pro-law enforcement bent of many of its voters. The strategy nearly worked. Although Valley voters split on the proposal to radically change the Los Angeles Police Department power structure, they voted against it in far higher numbers than voters in the city at large.

A coalition of gay and lesbian activists added its voice Wednesday to the chorus of support for Charter Amendment F, the Los Angeles police reform measure to be voted on June 2. Charter Amendment F, which would limit the chief of police to two five-year terms, "is at the heart of the healing process for the city--a feeling that the police work for us and are accountable to us," said Michael Weinstein, executive director of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

During the months of intense campaigning against Charter Amendment F, the police reform measure, campaign operatives pinned their hopes on the San Fernando Valley and the conservative, pro-law enforcement bent of many of its voters. The strategy nearly worked. Although Valley voters split on the proposal to radically change the Los Angeles Police Department power structure, they voted against it in far higher numbers than voters in the city at large.

Charter Amendment F, the June 2 ballot measure that would give City Hall more authority over the Los Angeles Police Department, will be debated tonight at a meeting sponsored by the Studio City Residents Assn. A chance to ask questions will follow the debate.

An angry Los Angeles Police Commission voted unanimously Sunday to seek an independent attorney to advise them on how to remove Chief Daryl F. Gates, even as indications arose that the embattled chief will announce today that he is backing down from his threat to hold up the appointment of his successor.

The Los Angeles Police Department's complex disciplinary system--widely viewed as the cornerstone of officer accountability-- will change profoundly under Charter Amendment F and should subject officers and their supervisors to far more scrutiny, authorities said Wednesday.

In the deafening silence of a South-Central Los Angeles campaign office Wednesday afternoon, a young African-American political consultant found herself struggling with a painful reaction to what had just occurred. Like others involved in the campaign to change the way the Los Angeles Police Department is run, she was grappling with the fear that a yearlong struggle to reform the department had expired in the few minutes it took to announce the acquittal of four officers in the Rodney G.

The Los Angeles Police Department's complex disciplinary system--widely viewed as the cornerstone of officer accountability-- will change profoundly under Charter Amendment F and should subject officers and their supervisors to far more scrutiny, authorities said Wednesday.

Energized by the landslide victory of the police reform measure in Tuesday's election, top city officials and civic leaders said they are prepared to move forward with other programs to assure that the Los Angeles Police Department is responsive to the city's increasingly diverse population. The approval of Charter Amendment F, the leaders said, is only the beginning in a continuing push to remake a department that has long operated largely outside the control of City Hall.

A historic City Charter amendment to dramatically change the Los Angeles Police Department's power structure and make it more accountable to the community won a decisive victory Tuesday. Voters also passed a "buy American" measure to give California and Los Angeles County firms bidding preference on city contracts, and set a minimum U.S. content requirement for city purchases.

A $55,000 contribution by the Times Mirror Co., parent firm of the Los Angeles Times, sparked controversy Monday in the campaign over a proposed City Charter amendment that would change the way the Police Department is run. Times Mirror donated $55,147.50 to pay for advertising space for sponsors of Charter Amendment F, making the company the second-largest contributor to the campaign, according to a financial report filed with the city's Ethics Commission.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, in Los Angeles on Saturday to campaign for Charter Amendment F, the police reform measure on Tuesday's ballot, took a side trip to Lake View Terrace, where he prayed for an end to injustice at the spot of the Rodney G. King beating. "Keep hope alive," Jackson urged about 100 people who gathered to see him. "Vote for F. Vote for freedom."

Spawned by the Rodney G. King beating, the measure to reform the Los Angeles Police Department has evolved into a referendum on the worst U.S. riots this century, with leaders on both sides of the issue struggling to harness images for their own purposes. "History was the great communicator of this campaign," said Steve Glazer, a strategic consultant hired by Citizens for Law Enforcement and Reform (CLEAR), which is backing Charter Amendment F on Tuesday's ballot.

Two former Los Angeles police chiefs Friday joined the chorus of citizens and public officials criticizing the Police Department for a slow response to last week's rioting, blaming the department's top leadership and calling for structural changes. "Last week, the performance of the department was below par," state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita) said at a Van Nuys rally in support of Prop. F, the police reform initiative.

Jerry Brown may have been known as Gov. Moonbeam, but I will give him credit for showing how to communicate with gang members ("Gang Members Join Brown on White-River Raft Trip," May 12). He has done several key things that make the difference in dealing with the gang members. First, he has acted as their mentor. Most gang members have never had a positive role-model mentor. Second, he has changed their environment.

Los Angeles' corporate elite is continuing to bankroll the campaign to reform the Police Department, and the opposition is relying heavily on loans from the police union, according to financial statements filed Friday. The group backing Charter Amendment F--Citizens for Law Enforcement and Reform (CLEAR)--reported receiving $485,561 between March 18 and May 16. Developers, law firms, banks and corporations, including the Walt Disney Co. and BankAmerica Corp., contributed about half of the total.

Jerry Brown may have been known as Gov. Moonbeam, but I will give him credit for showing how to communicate with gang members ("Gang Members Join Brown on White-River Raft Trip," May 12). He has done several key things that make the difference in dealing with the gang members. First, he has acted as their mentor. Most gang members have never had a positive role-model mentor. Second, he has changed their environment.