CITY HALL
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90012
( 213) 485-3311
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR TOM BRADLEY
MAYOR
THE CHARGE
BY
MAYOR TOM BRADLEY
TO
THE SPECIAL INDEPENDENT COMMISSION
TO
REVIEW THE STRUCTURE AND OPERATION
OF
THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT,
WITH THE COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE OF THE
LOS ANGELES DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
The Los Angeles Police Department is facing a crisis of
confidence. It has become the focus of national attention.
The District Attorney has brought indictments against four LAPD
officers, including a supervising sergeant. We can expect a
series of investigations from other governmental sources,
including the U.S. Department of Justice, various Congressional
committees, and other state and local agencies. The media
interest is unprecedented.
I remain confident in the ability and integrity of the
large majority of men and women of LAPD who are out on the
streets daily, doing the tough, dirty, and dangerous business
of fighting crime. I intend to support our pol ice department
to the fullest . I was a police officer for twenty-one years,
and I feel for the thousands of honorable men and women of the
I.APO. They have watched helplessly in recent weeks as the
"AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY-AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER"
Charge to the Special Independent commission
Page Two
April 1, 1991
LAPD's fine reputation has been damaged. My top priority is to
restore the public's confidence in the cop on the street.
Nonetheless, we all know -- and the Rodney King beating has
been a shocking and tragic reminder -- that we have problems in
the department. These problems can and must be corrected.
The time has come for a reasoned, objective, thorough and
constructive examination of the structure and operation of our
Police Department. How can we improve it: how can we . correct
its faults; how can we increase its service, its efficiency,
its fairness; how can we make it a model for the next century?
All of us can unite in working toward this goal. We want the
best possible Police Department, the finest in the nation.
That has been our objective, and that is what we demand for the
future.
I am not willing to leave this inquiry to others. To that
end, I am today appointing a special Independent Commission, to
be chaired by Warren Christopher and charged with the
responsibility of conducting a full and fair examination of the
structure and operation of the LAPD. Because I want it to
reflect the views of all those interested in the crucial issues
it will examine, I have appointed seven members representing
the widest possible spectrum of interests. They are:
Warren Christopher, a former Deputy Attorney General and
Deputy Secretary of State now serving as chairman of
O'Melveny & Myers law firm, who also served as vice
chairman of the McCone Commission that investigated the
1965 Watts Riots;
Roy Anderson, chairman emeritus, Lockheed Corporation and a
member of the board of trustees of Stanford University;
Leo F. Estrada, associate professor at the Graduate School
of Architecture and Urban Planning at UCLA, who served as a
principal advisor during the recent redistricting of the
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors' districts;
Mickey Kantor, a partner of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips law
firm since 1975, who is also a member of the Los Angeles
Conservation Corps, California Commission on campaign
Financing, and the American Jewish Committee;
Andrea Sheridan Ordin, a former United States Attorney and
chief assistant Attorney General for the State of
California, now chief of litigation at the Los Angeles law
firm of Pepper, Hamilton & Scheetz;