5 CHIEF CANDIDATES MISS FORUM; ONLY BACA SHOWS UP FOR SOUTH L.A. DIALOGUE.Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer A forum was held in South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. on Saturday for the six semifinalists in the search for a new police chief, but five of them were no-shows. The one candidate who attended - Lee Baca, chief of field operations for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department This article is about the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, not to be confused with the smaller Los Angeles County Police The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. - told the audience at Victory Baptist Church that he favored decentralizing de·cen·tral·ize v. de·cen·tral·ized, de·cen·tral·iz·ing, de·cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To distribute the administrative functions or powers of (a central authority) among several local authorities. the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . , opposed San Fernando Valley San Fernando ValleyValley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. secession efforts, and felt the police chief of Los Angeles should be an elected office. At the end of this month, the Police Commission will narrow down the six semifinalists and will recommend and rank its three favorite candidates to Mayor Richard Riordan, who will make the final selection. The City Council must then approve his choice. Two of the candidates, LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. Deputy Chief David Gascon Gascon inhabitant of Gascony, France; people noted for their bragging. [Fr. Hist.: NCE, 1049] See : Boastfulness and LAPD Cmdr. Art Lopez called organizers Saturday morning to cancel because of emergencies, said Ocie P. Hinkle, chairwoman of the Los Angeles Community Forum Committee, which planned the event. Deputy Chief Mark Kroeker was in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , while Sacramento Police Chief Arturo Venegas Jr. could not attend, but submitted a one-page statement outlining his vision for the policing of Los Angeles. Deputy Chief Bernard Parks, one of the front-runners for the job, also did not appear. Hinkle and others in the audience expressed disappointment with the cancellations and no-shows among the semifinalists. ``That in and of itself is an indication of their ability to relate to the community,'' said Steve Kornfeld, a Pasadena resident. ``If, as a candidate, they are canceling and not making an effort to communicate, how is that going to relate later as a chief?'' Baca earned good marks from some of those attending the forum. ``I was really impressed with the explanations (Baca) gave to our questions,'' said James Bolden, a South Los Angeles resident. ``It seems like he's really genuine about being chief, and I support his views.'' In his comments, Baca said if the Valley secedes, the breakup would have a tremendous impact on the city as a whole. ``For the San Fernando Valley to pull away would take a significant amount of strength from the city, economically as well as human-resource strength,'' Baca said. ``I believe that we have to keep the city together.'' Also, he said the police administration must be decentralized de·cen·tral·ize v. de·cen·tral·ized, de·cen·tral·iz·ing, de·cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To distribute the administrative functions or powers of (a central authority) among several local authorities. to be more effective. ``You can no longer lead the Los Angeles Police Department from the top,'' he said. ``You have to lead the Police Department from the middle down. ``If you're going to run the Police Department, you can't separate yourself from people who criticize you,'' Baca said. ``You have to get closer to those people, because they are the ones who understand the severity and impact of crime in their community.'' Regarding his proposal to make the chief of police an elected office, Baca said it would give the community more say in the operation of the Police Department. ``The chief knows if he's not pleasing the community he'll be voted out,'' Baca said. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Lee Baca Envisions decentralized LAPD |
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