City Council Denies Parks’ Final Appeal

With a swift vote, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday put an end to Chief Bernard C. Parks’ bid for a second term as head of the Los Angeles Police Department and brought to a close a tumultuous chapter of city politics that pitted Mayor James K. Hahn against his own chief.

The council, voting 11 to 3, refused to overturn the Police Commission’s decision to deny Parks a second five-year term--an action that effectively ends the chief’s 37-year career in the Los Angeles Police Department.

In a phone interview, Parks said he was disappointed with the council’s decision, but not surprised.

“The people who sit around the horseshoe do what they do all the time: They play inside politics,” said Parks, referring to the U-shaped desk where council members conduct their meetings.

Parks, who has accused the city’s leadership of orchestrating a conspiracy to oust him, said he is considering all of his options, including whether to file a lawsuit, a step Councilman Nate Holden urged him to take.

“It’s disappointing when you’ve offered so much and you’ve grown up in a department in which merits are important, and then find out that those merits get redefined and then actually ignored,” Parks said.

The chief appeared before the council Tuesday to make an impassioned hourlong speech defending his record, but the majority of the city lawmakers were unswayed. They maintained that the department needs fresh leadership, and rejected Parks’ claim that he was a victim of a conspiracy by the mayor and the police union that culminated in last week’s vote by the Police Commission.

Only the council’s three African American members--Holden, Mark Ridley-Thomas and Jan Perry--supported Parks’ bid for a second term. Councilwoman Ruth Galanter was in Washington, D.C.

“Chief Bernard Parks has served the men, women and children of this city honorably, capably and extraordinarily for the past 37 years,” Councilman Jack Weiss said. “This city ought to congratulate and commend Chief Bernard Parks for his extraordinary service, but at the same time it is proper for the city’s policymakers and for the public to say that it’s time for a change.”

Moments after the vote, Hahn held a news conference, telling reporters he was pleased with the outcome and believes the process had been a fair one.

“I think it’s time for all of us to move forward,” the mayor said. “I would encourage the chief to move forward with his life. I think that the city needs to move forward. We need to look toward the future about how we make Los Angeles a safer city.”

Hahn dismissed the chief’s allegations that he and the Police Commission had moved against Parks to reward the police union for supporting Hahn in last year’s mayoral campaign. Parks complained that the process for evaluating his application for a second term was unfair.

“I certainly would remind the chief that he said throughout this process that he believed he was given a full and fair evaluation,” Hahn said. “Only when the result became apparent to him has he suddenly challenged the fairness of the process.”

Parks also blamed politicians for making decisions that took officers off the street. At one point he suggested that flawed political initiatives--such as the compressed work schedule for police officers championed by Hahn--had contributed to a spike in crime, costing lives.

He further accused Hahn of lining up votes against him on the Police Commission and the City Council.

Mayor Denies Lobbying for Votes Against Chief

On Wednesday, Hahn called Parks’ allegations “flat-out wrong.”

“I did not line up votes, lobby people,” the mayor said. “I told him in my political judgment where the support was. . . . He’s twisted that.”

The mayor said it was up to Parks to decide whether he should resign before his term expires Aug. 12. Hahn also said that he did not believe the chief should file a lawsuit.

“I think lawsuits and lawyers are not the way to make the city safer,” he said.

Parks’ lawyer Gloria Allred said the chief is considering all of his options, including litigation. On Wednesday morning, before the council voted, she sent a letter to the city attorney’s office detailing laws that may have been broken during the evaluation process, Allred said.

“I think as a result of the City Council action, Los Angeles is going to lose the best police chief the city has ever had,” Allred said.

“I think personally that his rights have been violated and that he has been deprived of due process,” she added, but declined to elaborate.

The five-member Police Commission decided not to grant Parks a second term after interviewing him for nine hours in a closed-door session. The panel cited a variety of reasons, including an increase in crime, low officer morale and problems with recruiting and retaining officers.

County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, a friend of the chief’s, said he hopes Parks does not pursue legal action.

“I don’t think it would be in his best interests or the city’s best interests,” Yaroslavsky said. “He’s had a great career. He’s walking away with a lot of accomplishments.”

Parks said that no matter what happens, he plans to stay in Los Angeles.

“I’m going to be here and certainly look at ways I can continue on public issues, volunteerism and other items,” he said.

Late Wednesday evening, Parks’ office released a statement saying, “The process for transition in the office of chief of police will be orderly and professional.”

The statement did not indicate if Parks intends to serve the rest of his term.

Panel, Hahn Turn to Replacement Question

The question of who will replace Parks now goes to the Police Commission, which is scheduled to begin laying out the search process at its meeting next Tuesday. Hahn said he would like a high level of community input during the process, and repeated that he does not have any short list of preferred candidates.

“The next police chief must have a demonstrated commitment to reform, which I believe is the foundation of building trust with the community,” Hahn said.

After the vote, Councilwoman Perry said she felt “embarrassed” for the city.

“The man was clearly qualified,” she said.

Holden said he thought Parks was denied a fair evaluation, and added that the chief should sue over the matter.

“I would respectfully request that the chief file a lawsuit for the purpose of having this matter aired in public, as it should have been,” he told reporters. “The public has a right to know. Closed-door decisions should not stand in this city any more.”

Other officials criticized Holden for suggesting that someone pursue litigation against the city.

“The city gets sued enough, and to recommend that someone file a lawsuit, I think is irresponsible,” said Councilman Dennis Zine, who said Parks is not entitled to get a second five-year term, and so there are no issues of due process to consider.

“This vote today, 11 to 3, clearly reflects the fact that Chief Parks was not able to muster support with the mayor, with the Police Commission, with the rank and file of the LAPD and with the City Council,” said Zine, a former LAPD officer and union official.

“What we need for this city is a Police Department that can be effective in policing the city of Los Angeles, all areas of the city of Los Angeles,” he added. “We are miserably failing in that mission at this time.”