Ex-U.S. Official to Head Mayor’s Probe of LAPD

Mayor Tom Bradley today will appoint former Deputy Secretary of State Warren M. Christopher chairman of a seven-member citizens’ commission that will launch an unprecedented investigation of the Police Department in the wake of the Rodney G. King beating, it was learned Sunday.

In addition, recently retired assistant police chief Jesse A. Brewer and noted criminologist James Q. Wilson will be named senior advisers to the citizens’ panel.

Naming of the commission is the latest in a series of political moves engineered by the mayor’s office to bring pressure on Police Chief Daryl F. Gates to resign, a decision the mayor has said he regards as a necessary first step toward patching police-community relations.

Bradley is expected to announce the commission appointments at a news conference this morning, according to City Hall sources who requested anonymity. They said the mayor and the commission will raise more than $1 million in private funds and donations to scrutinize police operations as well as allegations of police brutality.

“We believe that the members are of such a high caliber and the staffing and funding so well developed that the citizens’ commission will restore confidence in the Police Department,” said a source familiar with the panel.

Christopher, 65, is the widely respected chairman of the Los Angeles law firm O’Melveny & Myers who served as deputy attorney general in the Johnson Administration and deputy secretary of state in the Carter Administration.

In 1980, Christopher was the key negotiator in the release of the 52 American hostages held in Iran. He was Bradley’s top choice to serve as chairman of the blue-ribbon panel, the sources said.

Brewer, 69, who retired a month ago after a 38-year career with the LAPD, was the highest ranking black in the history of the department. His name has been mentioned by leaders in the minority community as an ideal interim replacement for Gates should the chief choose to retire any time soon.

Brewer will serve as one of three senior advisers to the commission. Joining him will be Wilson, a nationally recognized criminologist who has studied crime and police behavior for more than 20 years. Wilson formerly taught at Harvard University and is now the Collins professor of management and public policy at UCLA.

None of the three men could be reached Sunday.

Bill Chandler, a spokesman for the mayor, declined to comment on the makeup of the panel.

The mayor’s commission is the second group formed within the last week to review law enforcement training and procedures in Los Angeles.

Last week, Gates disclosed that he had appointed retired state Supreme Court Justice John A. Arguelles and retired USC President James H. Zumberge to lead a separate inquiry into police misconduct. Three other panel members are expected to be named by Arguelles, who retired in 1989 and currently practices law in Orange County.

Gates’ panel was announced as part of a 10-point plan intended to avoid a recurrence of the police beating of King, who was struck more than 50 times with nightsticks. Gates did not address precisely the funding or staffing levels for the “Arguelles Panel,” raising questions about his commission’s independence. The panel is expected to rely heavily on police funds and personnel.

Since the King beating in Lake View Terrace was videotaped by an amateur photographer on March 3, allegations of racism and abusive conduct have been lodged against Los Angeles police officers. An array of community groups and national leaders have called for Gates to resign, but the chief has stood firm, saying he has no plans to leave before the King scandal is behind him and his department.

“The public is interested in an independent analysis of what happened (in the King incident) and of the Police Department,” said an official in the mayor’s office. “The mayor believes that, only by appointing an independent group and assuring them independent funding, can you assure that the final report has credibility.”

For the last three weeks, the mayor’s office has waged a behind-the-scenes campaign, led by Deputy Mayor Mark Fabiani, to seek Gates’ removal.

The effort has included naming civil libertarian and Gates critic Stanley Sheinbaum to fill one of two vacancies on the Police Commission, coordinating calls for Gates to resign by community groups and lobbying council members to publicly denounce the chief. So far, only Councilman Michael Woo has demanded that Gates step down.

Fabiani could not be reached for comment Sunday.

Bradley and the citizens’ commission are expected to raise more than $1 million in funds and donated services through businesses, foundations and universities. The money will be used primarily to set up a staff and conduct a massive inquiry into Police Department practices and procedures, the sources said.

The mayor’s office also has studied the possibility of arming the panel with subpoena power through the city’s Police Commission.

At his press conference today, Bradley is expected to lay out an elaborate and detailed charge for the commission members, who will appear with him at City Hall.

The mayor’s panel will be patterned after the Knapp Commission, which investigated corruption in the New York Police Department two decades ago. That commission, which also had subpoena power, found a pattern of systemic police corruption and recommended broad reforms to clean up the problem.