Hahn Explains Stance on Chief; Many Express Anger

Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn said Tuesday that he is opposing Police Chief Bernard C. Parks’ bid for a second term in part because of the chief’s failure to advance police reform, but the mayor’s explanation was angrily rejected by many of the same leaders who supported him in last year’s mayoral election.

“I’m in shock, my community is in shock,” said City Councilman Nate Holden, one of Parks’ strongest supporters and a longtime backer of Hahn as well. “It’s disrespectful not only for my community, but for the people of Los Angeles.”

Parks stayed out of public view--he had been scheduled to attend a conference in Anaheim, but police officials said he stayed home with his family. A police spokesman said the chief was disappointed, but encouraged by Hahn’s pledge that the city’s Police Commission--the panel that will decide Parks’ fate--will give him a fair hearing.

Hahn’s move tests the historical alliance between the Hahn family and African American voters, who were a quarter of Hahn’s supporters in last year’s election. By breaking from black leaders who have rallied around Parks, Hahn upended relationships that have shaped both his career and Los Angeles politics.

“It’s really a defining action for him,” said Cal State Fullerton professor Rafael Sonenshein, an expert on the City Charter and the LAPD. “It’s stepping out front of what is usually available for Los Angeles mayors to hide behind, which is the commission system. In this case, he went right past it. It’s a very bold, strong decision.”

But African American political officials and activists characterized it as a betrayal. All three African American City Council members condemned Hahn’s opposition to Parks, as did a number of other prominent leaders.

Some said they were even contemplating a recall campaign against the man they fought to get into office less than a year ago.

Many of those interviewed Tuesday stressed that their reactions went beyond defensiveness about Parks because of his race. Parks was one of the first African American officers to rise to the top ranks of the LAPD, and his supporters view him as someone who has imposed a strong hand on a police force viewed with suspicion for years. Although critics see him as rigid, Parks’ supporters praise his honesty and forcefulness.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) said that although she doesn’t always agree with Parks, the mayor should find “room to work with someone who has impeccable integrity.”

Waters campaigned for Hahn last year, but said Tuesday that she was among those considering whether he should be recalled.

“We’re not going to discourage [the community] from being upset about this,” Waters said. “We’re going to let them know that . . . we too feel betrayed.”

Waters conceded that a recall might not be plausible, but other Hahn supporters said they would be open to that idea.

“People are really angry--my phone has been ringing off the hook today,” said Dorothy Freeman, who lives in the Athens neighborhood in South Los Angeles. “I voted for him and I feel so betrayed.”

Many community leaders rejected Hahn’s argument that Parks is not doing a good job, saying that the chief has transformed a department that has had a deeply troubled relationship with African Americans and others.

“I heard a policeman say this morning on the radio that morale was low and Parks doesn’t allow them to do their job,” said the Rev. M. Andrew Robinson-Gaither of Faith United Methodist Church. “But to me, that means Parks doesn’t allow them to do their job in the old way of intimidating people.”

Radio personality Tavis Smiley called Hahn’s decision “a slap in the face of African American voters, without whom Jimmy Hahn would never have become mayor.”

Community activists said they will organize protests over the decision, including one planned for tonight in Leimert Park.

As those sentiments bubbled over in South Los Angeles, where Hahn’s father held office for decades, the mayor attempted to lay out his rationale for opposing Parks at a news conference at City Hall.

Speaking in somber tones, the mayor said he does not believe that the chief is implementing federally mandated reforms of the department, and also is failing to inspire a demoralized force and improve community policing.

“It is because of these differences that I cannot support his reappointment,” said Hahn. “I could not make this decision on politics and personal friendships. I had to do what was best for the city and the department.”

Hahn said he hoped that his African American supporters and other residents would understand that he made his decision because of the chief’s performance.

“I hope Los Angeles has grown to the point where we can make this decision on the merits,” he said. “I’m painfully aware of how difficult this decision is for many people, including me, but I had to make this decision on the merits.”

The mayor faulted Parks for lack of progress on a federal consent decree, saying that the city is failing to comply with aspects of the agreement designed to protect civil rights.

Hahn said the department has not given the Police Commission information about incidents of excessive use of force by officers. In addition, he said, the chief does not agree with the merits of collecting information about racial profiling.

“Those are the reforms that I’m very concerned about, and I’ve been unhappy with progress we’re making on that,” he said.

LAPD Cmdr. Dan Koenig said that although the department is not in perfect compliance with the agreement, great progress has been made, noting that the city has not been sanctioned by the court.

Terree Bowers, chief deputy city attorney, said an independent monitor assigned to study the city’s efforts “was generally complimentary of the department for mobilizing so quickly.” Bowers’ boss, City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo, endorsed Parks on Sunday.

Hahn also argued that Parks does not share his concern about the dwindling number of officers in the force, which is about 1,200 officers short of its authorized strength.

Deputy Chief Michael Bostic said the department is making progress on recruitment and said it is too soon to judge the results. The LAPD got approval for additional resources for recruiting in November and it takes several months for new recruits to become officers, he said.

Another factor that shaped Hahn’s decision was the slow reinstatement of the senior lead officer program, a community policing program that Parks cut and then restored at the urging of Mayor Richard Riordan.

But many neighborhood leaders complain that not all the officers are back at their posts, a sentiment Hahn echoed Tuesday.

“The chief is a wonderful man and wonderful human being who I enormously respect, but we disagree on some of these fundamental issues,” Hahn said. “I think people elected me to make tough decisions. It was a tough one.”

The debate now moves to the Police Commission, whose five members the mayor appointed to set policy for the LAPD.

The mayor said Tuesday that he would not lobby his commissioners, adding that he wants them to consider his opinion, along with others in the city, in making their decision. He said that if the panel chooses to keep Parks on, he would work with the chief.

Police Commission President Rick Caruso praised Hahn for making “a very tough decision devoid of politics.” But Caruso reiterated the panel’s intention of operating independently, adding that it wouldn’t shrink from reappointing the chief if it determines that to be the best course.

“What we have to communicate as a commission is that this is going to be done on the merits,” he said. “There is a lot more pressure on the commission today to make that clear, that’s for certain.”

The panel’s decision, which is expected in the next few months, could be overturned by the City Council, which is already breaking on the issue along racial lines.

On Tuesday, the three African American members of the council denounced Hahn’s move and said it has badly damaged his relationship with African American voters.

Councilwoman Jan Perry said her office was flooded with calls from upset constituents.

“They’re angry, and I would expect them to be angry,” she said.

By contrast, Hahn’s decision was welcomed by the city’s police union, which has campaigned for the chief’s ouster and which praised the mayor for showing “real leadership.”

That itself caused some Parks supporters to redouble their concerns. “It’s baffling,” said Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas. “I think the empowering of the Police Protective League is a huge mistake.”

The majority of City Council members refrained from saying how they intend to handle the matter if it reaches them. But several, including Councilwoman Janice Hahn, the mayor’s sister, said Parks needs to better address the recent spike in crime.

In the ongoing race to fill the vacant 2nd Council District seat, both candidates, Assemblyman Tony Cardenas and businesswoman Wendy Greuel, said they believe Parks should go.

Times staff writers Tina Daunt and Lisa Richardson contributed to this story.

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