Bradley asks Gates to quit for good of city, 1991-04-03 |
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THE LOS ANGELES TI MES - April 3, 1991 Bradley Asl{s Gates to Quit for Good of City • Police: The chief promptly rejects the demand. The mayor cites damage to the department's reputation and lo~ of public confidence. Dy HECTOR TODAR and RICHARD A. SERRANO TIMES HArF WRITERS Mayor Tom Bradley called on Los Angeles Police Chier Daryl F. , Gates to resign Tuesday "for the good or the LAPD and the welfare of all or Los Angeles," a demand the chief promptly rejected. The standoff marked a sharp escalation in the monthlong controversy over the police beating of Rodney G. King. transforming il into a battle or wills between two of the city's most powerful public officials. In a live televised address. Bradley said he met privately with Gates al City Hall earlier in the day and asked the chief to step down from the post he has held for 13 years. But Bradley said Gates told him: "Mayor, I think you're wrong and I will not resign." Having failed in private lo persuade the chief lo resign, Bradley went before the public. "The Los Angeles Police Department Is al a crossroads in Its great history," the mayor said. "When the public be· gins to lose confidence in lhc chief, • and in the LAPD. the chief has only one choice. He must step Hide." Gale!, emerging from his Parker Center office after the mayor's address, appeared calm and unshaken and vowed not lo resign. "There are 8,300 members or this department who arc depending on me to stay and to provide some leadership out or lhis situation,'' · Gates said. "I believe I can provide lhal leadership and I will do lhaL" He added: "I don't believe that 8.300 police officers will follow lhe mayor anywhere." King was beaten March 3 by LAPD officers who struck him more than 50 limes with their batons after a car chase in the San Fermindo Valley. The beating, videotaped by a amateur cameraman, has prompted a national outcry . against police brutality and many calls for Gates' resignation. Gates has publicly condemned the actions or the officers, but claimed it was an "aberration" and not part of a pattern or police abuse of citizens. Bradley 's call for Gates' departure drew a wide range or predictions about how the struggle between the two leaders wiU be resolved. 'Jr the chief re!igns, it will create a firestorm," said Councilwoman Joy Picus, a Gates supporter. "ll would polarize the city, not heal the city. I believe the only person who can make the changes required within the department is lhe chief of police himself." Police Commissioner Melanie Lomax, who often has been critical of the chief, predicted otherwise. "Mayor Bradley's statements will be given great weight," Lomax said. "I think It's going to be one of Please IH GATES, AIO GATES: Mayor Calls on Chief to Resign .i· Continued fn>m Al those pivotal events in this cnsis that, in all likelihood, wlll increase the pressure that has been brought to bear on the chief of police." In his speech. Bradley said the King case, and Gates' refusal to leave office. have damaged the department's reputation and ruined public confidence in the Police Department "l simply will not stand by as our city is split apart." Bradley said. ... We must come together. We must heal." Directing many of his remarks to the ch ief personally. the mayor said: "Chief Gates. now is the time for you to do the right thing-for your officers. for your department. for the public you serve." Bradley also addressed the offi- . cers under Gates ' command. "As an LAPD veteran. I empathize with the thou.sands of honorable officers who have watched nelplessly as the department's prestige has been seriously tarnished. . . . The damage to the department's reputation cannot continue." His remarks. which lasted 31h minutes. were in sharp contrast to his cautious statements in the past four weeks in which he always stopped short of calling for Gates' · resignation. Earlier. Bradley had said Gates' resignation would be "the on ly way to start the heal ing process" in a city divtded by the beating. but that the decision to resign was up to the chief. But Tuesday, Bradley crossed the line. "Unfortunately. Chief Gates has not recognized the im:> act he is haVlng on the LAPD." ·. he mayor said. "His reacttons to e tngic Rodney King beating ve made an ugly siwauon even rse." As mayor:· he added. "I have reluctantly concluded that an no longer wait for Daryl . es to do whal is best for the PD." Instead. the mayor continued. ates has embarked upon a public ·lations campaign to keep his job .hat has only deepened our ounds and widened our differ- 1ces." Gatts denied that he has orchesned a public relations effort on ; own behalf. saying that thouids of "just plain folks" have 'Tie to hil defense. rhe chief stressed that he would p down only if a panel he >ointed lut week to review PD procedures determines that w:is "derelicl" in performing his .. , "If they find that I have been derelict ... I'll say goodby. But I don 't think I have," Gates said. He read from a 1989 report by City Atty. James K. Hahn criticizin g Bradley's ties to financial insti- 1 tut1ons that dealt with the city and , the mayor's efforts to secure city funds for a scandal-plagued Afri- : can trade group. i "Ethics is what we're really talkin g about," Gates told reporters · after citing the reporL "He's called on me to do the moral thing, gettin g into ethics. Well. no one's ever questioned my ethics. No one's ever questioned my integrity or my honesty." Last month. the Los Angeles County grand jury indicted four LAPD officers in the beating on charges that include assault with a deadly weapon and assault under the color of authority. The officers have pleaded not guilty. In addition. six other government inquiries into the Police Department and the King incident are under way. Gates was appointed chief by the Police Comm1ss1on in 1978. According to the City Charter. a police chief has Civil Service protections and can be fired or disciplined by the commission only 1f it can show "cause." usually interpreted to mean misconduct or willful neglect of official duties. As a result. there have been calls in City Hall to change the Charter. Despite the legal difficulties in ousting Gates. a public groundswell- fueled in part by Bradley's office and the American Civil Liberties Union-has grown demanding his resignation. Others who want him removed include several African-American groups. such as the Urban League and the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People. A variety of local and national political leaders also have called on Gates to step down, includtn1 City Councilman Michael Woo, state Assembly Speaker Willie Brown <D-San Francisco) and U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (0-Delaware). Woo. the only City Council member to demand Gates' resignation. said after the mayor's speech: "Mayor Bradley hu taken a very bold step in the best interests of the Police Department and the city .... Now it is up to Chief Gates to let the healing begin by stepping down." In contrast. Gates has received the support of Gov. Pete Wilson and several City Council members. including Picus, Hai Bernson. Joan Milke Flores and council President John Ferraro. : · Bradley's speech. according · lO sources at City Hall, culminated weeks o( behind-the-scenes e{forts directed by his top aide. Deputy Mayor Mark Fabiani. f On March 15. Bradley appo int~ civil libertarian Stanley Sheinbaum to the Police Commission. a move hailed by those seeking the chief's resignation. On March 26, Bradley replaced one of \}le five Civil Serv1ce commissioners who eventually could decide whether Gates should be fired. The mayor's office also worked with community groups that are demanding new LAPD leadership and lobbied council members to publicly denounce the chief. In public. however. Bradley said his office was not working to unseat Gates. The mayor repeated ly said he would not call for the chief to step down because it was unlikely that Gates would do so. "I think he has been advised by some people already and he's made it very clear that he has no intention of leaving," Bradley said on March 21 during a tour of SouthCentral Los Angeles. "He's told me thaL So I don't believe in engaging in fruitless activ1ties." Six days later. Bradley told a press conference: "There have been a number of people who have called for the chief's resignation. I have not done so .. . . I think that the chief is the one who is going to have to recognize when his retirement is required in order to bring about that process." Under fire from various community groups and political leaders. Gates has responded with hi! own public relations campaign. He ha.s appeared on a number of television talk shows-including "Prime Time Live" and "Face the Nation" -and addressed a crowd of supporters at a Police Academy rally. Los Angeles police omcers and their supporters began wearing blue ribbons to symbolize their solidarity with the chief and his department Gates' most comprehensive effort to restore confidence in the LAPD came last week. when he announced a IO-point plan to improve community relations and explore the causes of police brutality. The cornerstone of the plan wa.s ·the appointment oC a committee chaired by retired state Sui>remc Court Justice John A. Arguelles. The committee is to conduct an exhaustive inquiry into the LAPD's training practices and policies. On Monday, Bradley countered by announcing the appo intment of his own review panel. headed by former Deputy Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher. Arguelles and Chnstopher said Monday they had discussed coordinating the efforts of their committees. The Christopher Commission was a key element in the mayor's campaign to remove Gates from · office. and the announcement that the two committees could work together appeared to temporarily frustrate Bradley's attempts at persuading the chief to resign. In a statement released Tuesday, Bradley spokesman Bill Chandler hinted that accepting members of the Gates-appointed Arguelles Commission into the mayor's commission would compromise the latter's independence. "Areview (of the Police De-partment! that does not look to the city or the LAPD for financing or staffing iJ the only way to ensure the commission 's independence." Chandler said. " And a completely independent review is what the city nttds." By contrast. Gates said that merging the two panels "makes a lot of sense and so I'm all for iL" In another development Tuesday, ACLU officials said they had gathered petitions with 20,000 signatures demanding Gates' resignation. The ACLU also released a report. compiled by staff in New York and Washington. outlining allegations of police brutality throughout the nation. The report said the get-tough rhetoric of the "war on drugs" and the "war on crime" encourages police to become overly forceful "soldiers" in their communities. Ramona Ripston. executive di - rector o( the ACLU of Southern Caiifornia, applauded Bradley's call for the chief's resignation . .. That is certainly something this community wants," she said. "It's a beginning point. but no one should think that all the problems of the department will be solved when Cates goes. Starting with new. fresh leadership is the way to go." A recently formed group called Citizens in Support of the Chief of Police presented the Police Commission with 13.000 signatures of people who support Gates and want him to remain as chief. TimH staff wrtt1rs LHllt ler11t. Glenn F. 8untin1, John Ktnd•ll. John L Mltchtll. Jam11 R1ln1y 1nd S"•ryt Stolber1 contributed to t"l• story.
Object Description
Title | Commission meetings: newspaper clippings, 1991-03-06 - 1991-04-10 |
Description | Commission meetings: newspaper clippings, 1991 March 6 - April 10. PART OF A SERIES: Materials in the series fall into one of several categories related to the Independent Commission's work product: (1) Commission meeting materials, which include meeting agendas, work plans, memoranda, and articles about police misconduct that were circulated and reviewed during the Commission's internal meetings; (2) public correspondence, which includes citizen complaints against the LAPD in the form of written testimony, articles, and an audio cassette tape, as well as letters drafted by citizens in support of the LAPD; (3) summaries of interviews held with LAPD officers regarding Departmental procedures and relations; (4) public meeting materials, which include transcripts, supplementary documents, and witness statements that were reviewed at the Commission's public meetings; (5) press releases related to the formation and work product of the Commission; and (6) miscellaneous materials reviewed by the Commission during its study, including LAPD personnel and training manuals, a memorandum of understanding, and messages from the LAPD's Mobile Digital Terminal (MDT) system. |
Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California |
Date issued | 1991-03-06/1991-03-08; 1991-03-12; 119-03-13; 1991-03-15; 1991-03-16; 1991-03-18/1991-03-22; 1991-03-26/1991-03-29; 1991-04-02/1991-04-10 |
Type |
texts images |
Format | 94 p. |
Format (aat) | clippings (information artifacts) |
Format (imt) | application/pdf |
Language | English |
Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
Part of collection | Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, 1991 |
Series | Independent Commission File List |
File | Commission meetings: newspaper clippings |
Box and folder | box 21, folder 31 |
Provenance | The collection was given to the University of Southern California on July 31, 1991. |
Rights | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained. |
Physical access | Contact: Special Collections, Doheny Memorial Library, Libraries, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189; specol@dots.usc.edu |
Repository name | USC Libraries Special Collections |
Repository address | Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189 |
Repository email | specol@dots.usc.edu |
Filename | indep-box21-31 |
Description
Title | Bradley asks Gates to quit for good of city, 1991-04-03 |
Description | Hector Tobar and Richard A. Serrano "Bradley asks Gates to quit for good of city" Los Angeles Times (1991 April 3): A1, A10. |
Creator |
Tobar, Hector Serrano, Richard A. |
Publisher (of the original version) | Los Angeles Times |
Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California, USA |
Date issued | 1991-04-03 |
Type | texts |
Format | 2 p. |
Format (aat) | clippings (information artifacts) |
Format (imt) | application/pdf |
Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
Series | Independent Commission File List |
File | Commission meetings: newspaper clippings |
Box and folder | box 21, folder 31, item 35 |
Physical access | Contact: Special Collections, Doheny Memorial Library, Libraries, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189; specol@dots.usc.edu |
Full text |
THE LOS ANGELES TI MES - April 3, 1991
Bradley Asl{s Gates to
Quit for Good of City
• Police: The chief
promptly rejects the
demand. The mayor cites
damage to the
department's reputation
and lo~ of public
confidence.
Dy HECTOR TODAR
and RICHARD A. SERRANO
TIMES HArF WRITERS
Mayor Tom Bradley called on
Los Angeles Police Chier Daryl F. ,
Gates to resign Tuesday "for the
good or the LAPD and the welfare
of all or Los Angeles," a demand
the chief promptly rejected.
The standoff marked a sharp
escalation in the monthlong controversy
over the police beating of
Rodney G. King. transforming il
into a battle or wills between two
of the city's most powerful public
officials.
In a live televised address. Bradley
said he met privately with
Gates al City Hall earlier in the day
and asked the chief to step down
from the post he has held for 13
years. But Bradley said Gates told
him: "Mayor, I think you're wrong
and I will not resign."
Having failed in private lo persuade
the chief lo resign, Bradley
went before the public. "The Los
Angeles Police Department Is al a
crossroads in Its great history," the
mayor said. "When the public be·
gins to lose confidence in lhc chief, •
and in the LAPD. the chief has
only one choice. He must step
Hide."
Gale!, emerging from his Parker
Center office after the mayor's
address, appeared calm and unshaken
and vowed not lo resign.
"There are 8,300 members or this
department who arc depending on
me to stay and to provide some
leadership out or lhis situation,''
· Gates said. "I believe I can provide
lhal leadership and I will do lhaL"
He added: "I don't believe that
8.300 police officers will follow lhe
mayor anywhere."
King was beaten March 3 by
LAPD officers who struck him
more than 50 limes with their
batons after a car chase in the San
Fermindo Valley.
The beating, videotaped by a
amateur cameraman, has prompted
a national outcry . against police
brutality and many calls for Gates'
resignation. Gates has publicly
condemned the actions or the officers,
but claimed it was an "aberration"
and not part of a pattern or
police abuse of citizens.
Bradley 's call for Gates' departure
drew a wide range or predictions
about how the struggle between
the two leaders wiU be
resolved.
'Jr the chief re!igns, it will create
a firestorm," said Councilwoman
Joy Picus, a Gates supporter. "ll
would polarize the city, not heal
the city. I believe the only person
who can make the changes required
within the department is lhe
chief of police himself."
Police Commissioner Melanie
Lomax, who often has been critical
of the chief, predicted otherwise.
"Mayor Bradley's statements
will be given great weight," Lomax
said. "I think It's going to be one of
Please IH GATES, AIO
GATES: Mayor Calls
on Chief to Resign .i·
Continued fn>m Al
those pivotal events in this cnsis
that, in all likelihood, wlll increase
the pressure that has been brought
to bear on the chief of police."
In his speech. Bradley said the
King case, and Gates' refusal to
leave office. have damaged the
department's reputation and ruined
public confidence in the Police
Department
"l simply will not stand by as our
city is split apart." Bradley said.
... We must come together. We must
heal."
Directing many of his remarks to
the ch ief personally. the mayor
said: "Chief Gates. now is the time
for you to do the right thing-for
your officers. for your department.
for the public you serve."
Bradley also addressed the offi-
. cers under Gates ' command. "As an
LAPD veteran. I empathize with
the thou.sands of honorable officers
who have watched nelplessly as
the department's prestige has been
seriously tarnished. . . . The damage
to the department's reputation
cannot continue."
His remarks. which lasted 31h
minutes. were in sharp contrast to
his cautious statements in the past
four weeks in which he always
stopped short of calling for Gates'
· resignation.
Earlier. Bradley had said Gates'
resignation would be "the on ly
way to start the heal ing process" in
a city divtded by the beating. but
that the decision to resign was up
to the chief.
But Tuesday, Bradley crossed
the line. "Unfortunately. Chief
Gates has not recognized the im:>
act he is haVlng on the LAPD."
·. he mayor said. "His reacttons to
e tngic Rodney King beating
ve made an ugly siwauon even
rse."
As mayor:· he added. "I have
reluctantly concluded that
an no longer wait for Daryl
. es to do whal is best for the
PD."
Instead. the mayor continued.
ates has embarked upon a public
·lations campaign to keep his job
.hat has only deepened our
ounds and widened our differ-
1ces."
Gatts denied that he has orchesned
a public relations effort on
; own behalf. saying that thouids
of "just plain folks" have
'Tie to hil defense.
rhe chief stressed that he would
p down only if a panel he
>ointed lut week to review
PD procedures determines that
w:is "derelicl" in performing his
.. ,
"If they find that I have been
derelict ... I'll say goodby. But I
don 't think I have," Gates said.
He read from a 1989 report by
City Atty. James K. Hahn criticizin
g Bradley's ties to financial insti-
1 tut1ons that dealt with the city and ,
the mayor's efforts to secure city
funds for a scandal-plagued Afri- :
can trade group. i
"Ethics is what we're really
talkin g about," Gates told reporters ·
after citing the reporL "He's called
on me to do the moral thing,
gettin g into ethics. Well. no one's
ever questioned my ethics. No
one's ever questioned my integrity
or my honesty."
Last month. the Los Angeles
County grand jury indicted four
LAPD officers in the beating on
charges that include assault with a
deadly weapon and assault under
the color of authority. The officers
have pleaded not guilty.
In addition. six other government
inquiries into the Police Department
and the King incident are
under way.
Gates was appointed chief by the
Police Comm1ss1on in 1978. According
to the City Charter. a
police chief has Civil Service protections
and can be fired or disciplined
by the commission only 1f it
can show "cause." usually interpreted
to mean misconduct or willful
neglect of official duties.
As a result. there have been calls
in City Hall to change the Charter.
Despite the legal difficulties in
ousting Gates. a public groundswell-
fueled in part by Bradley's
office and the American Civil Liberties
Union-has grown demanding
his resignation.
Others who want him removed
include several African-American
groups. such as the Urban League
and the National Assn. for the
Advancement of Colored People.
A variety of local and national
political leaders also have called on
Gates to step down, includtn1 City
Councilman Michael Woo, state
Assembly Speaker Willie Brown
|
Filename | indep-box21-31-32.pdf |
Archival file | Volume70/indep-box21-31-32.pdf |