A 12-HOUR DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE TOP COP IN THE CITY.Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer It's 7:45 a.m., and William Bratton sits in front of a line of mirrors at KTLA KTLA KCBS TV in Los Angeles (Channel 5) studios in Hollywood, a makeup artist powdering his face, his wispy wisp n. 1. A small bunch or bundle, as of straw, hair, or grass. 2. a. One that is thin, frail, or slight. b. A thin or faint streak or fragment, as of smoke or clouds. 3. silver hair gleaming. The 54th chief of 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 . has decided to wear his dress police uniform rather than a business suit to make his pitch for public support for a countywide sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. increase that would give him the money to hire more cops. His full entourage is with him. Sgt. Tim Swift swept through the studio earlier to make sure it was secure. Fifteen minutes later, Officer Moises Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the , who picked up Bratton at home this morning, pulls into the station's lot in the chief's black Chevrolet Suburban This article is about a type of vehicle. For other uses, see Suburb. The Chevrolet Suburban is a large sport utility vehicle from Chevrolet. It is one of the longest-lived automobile nameplates in the United States, dating from 1935 and is likely to be produced . Just before going on air, Mary Grady, Bratton's spokeswoman, reviews his talking points. Then a TV reporter introduces the chief as a ``a man who tries to protect a city the size of some countries.'' This is the start of another 12-hour workday in the life of Bill Bratton - a shift that can stretch even longer if a major crime occurs along the way. L.A.'s celebrity chief, only the second outsider ever to take the helm of the LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. , faces one of the biggest challenges of his career. He has promised to reduce crime 20 percent this year, after a 25 percent drop in 2003. But there's no money to hire more cops for the nation's smallest per-capita big-city police force. ``Remember the Depression, the old Depression, 'Buddy, can you afford a dime?' Well, can you afford 20 cents for 5,000 more cops,'' he tells the morning TV audience. ``We hope that the residents of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County will support that.'' It's over in four minutes and he's out, off to the city's crime lab just north of downtown. It will be the first time in his 18-month tenure that Bratton will get a tour of the department's crime lab, where investigators piece together bullets and gun evidence to solve the city's most horrific crimes. But the lab needs help. Investigators work in an aging building with cracked acoustic ceilings and plywood walls. Bratton commiserates with Doreen Hudson, who heads the firearms analysis unit. ``I've already apologized in advance for the deplorable conditions you work in here, and the great work you do in spite of that,'' Bratton says. ``We're so accustomed to our deplorable conditions that we hardly think of them as deplorable anymore,'' Hudson says. Bratton listens, nods, asks questions, and shakes hands with technicians and analysts. He enters a darkened dark·en v. dark·ened, dark·en·ing, dark·ens v.tr. 1. a. To make dark or darker. b. To give a darker hue to. 2. To fill with sadness; make gloomy. 3. room where halos of light surround computer screens that show microscopic striations left on bullets fired from guns seized by officers on the streets. Some of it looks like a scene right out of the television show ``CSI CSI Crime Scene Investigator CSI CompuServe, Inc. CSI Commodity Systems, Inc. CSI Commodity Systems Inc. (Boca Raton, FL) CSI Crime Scene Investigation (CBS TV show) CSI Christian Schools International .'' ``This is new from when I last left the business in 1996 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 ,'' Bratton says of the new technology. Bratton marvels at the 1,800 guns stacked along walls in a walk-in closet-size room at the lab. He picks up a pistol that would fit right in in a pirate movie, then moves on to a revolver, noting, ``This is like something from 'Hopalong Cassidy.''' After the tour, Bratton walks next door to the Northeast Division headquarters. He walks down the hallways, looks into offices, smiles and says hello. He's met with big smiles, and handshakes. People stand up from their seats as he approaches. He remembers some of their names. Compstat briefing Later, the chief's driver negotiates congested con·gest·ed adj. Affected with or characterized by congestion. congested ENT adjective Referring to a boggy blood-filled tissue. See Nasal congestion. downtown streets. He sits in the passenger seat reading a Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). editorial critical of County Sheriff Lee Baca's support for slot machines in poker rooms and racetracks to provide more cash for cops. Suddenly the vehicle stops in front of the Bradbury Building The Bradbury Building is an architectural landmark in Los Angeles, California, in the United States. The building was built in 1893 and is located at 304 South Broadway. History , which houses the Police Department's Internal Affairs Internal affairs may refer to:
Then he's off to the California Mart, which houses a large conference room where the department holds Compstat crime tracking meetings. Compstat is Bratton's key to success. He brought the system to L.A. from New York, where it is credited with helping bring crime down. On this day, dozens of cops from five divisions in the Central Bureau will take the podium to answer to the chief. They have crammed for days and nights well in advance of this meeting. Bratton sits at the commander's table in front of a podium and takes the microphone. In his Boston monotone mon·o·tone n. 1. A succession of sounds or words uttered in a single tone of voice. 2. Music a. A single tone repeated with different words or time values, especially in a rendering of a liturgical text. he grills gang officers from the Rampart Division. ``What are you specifically doing relative to the enforcement'' of the city's latest gang injunction A gang injunction is a court-issued restraining order prohibiting gang members from participating in certain activities. It is based on the legal theory that gang activity constitutes a public nuisance that prevents non-gang members from enjoying peace in their communities. against Mara Salvatrucha <noinclude></noinclude> Mara Salvatrucha refers to a large notorious Hispanic gangs involved in criminal activities in Central America and the United States. The gang names are commonly abbreviated as MS, Mara, MS-13 , he asks. Detective Ricky Ramos, a Rampart gang cop, tells him officers are only beginning to identify the most active gang members, and will begin enforcing gang nuisance violations within a week. Bratton interrupts. ``What would that enforcement entail? What number of gang members are you seeking to serve? ``At this point in time we have 24 identified.'' ``OK.'' He asks how will enforcement get off the ground, and if the police have involved community members in the injunction efforts. ``I'm really looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a full-court press full-court press n. 1. Basketball An aggressive defensive strategy in which one or two players harass the ball handler in the backcourt while the rest of the team maintains a close man-to-man or zone defense. 2. as much as possible to literally bury these characters with everything you got to maximize the impact of it,'' Bratton says. Then, from out of nowhere, the chief's spokeswoman, Grady, appears during the meeting. She wants to know if he would like to be interviewed by an Australian TV station for a story about Baca's latest cost-saving, early-jail release plan. Bratton agrees, and they set it up for 5 p.m. Short lunch Noontime noon·time n. See noon. , and Bratton orders a Cobb salad The Cobb salad was a signature menu item of the legendary Brown Derby in Hollywood, a landmark restaurant in Los Angeles, California. Variations of the salad are now served in restaurants world-wide. at the California Mart cafeteria. There have been no breaking crime events, no big problems. ``I like the days with excitement,'' he says. ``It gets the adrenaline going.'' He takes only a few bites of his salad before throwing it away and going upstairs to a self-defense class - part of the 200-hour training program required of all peace officers in the state. Officer Anita Moreno shows him how to properly use a nightstick and how to twist a handgun out of the hands of a would-be captor. Bratton swings the baton around like a tennis racket and calls out to Flores, his driver, ``I'm gonna practice this on you later.'' Bratton's cell phone goes off and his class is interrupted for a five-minute update from Assistant Chief Sharon Papa on the status of a new police headquarters. ``I like to be updated on significant events,'' he says later. ``I'm like a spectator.'' It's 1:12 p.m., and Bratton is back in his SUV, railing against endless layers of city and state bureaucracy, critical of how cumbersome it is to get anything accomplished in this town. Back in New York, when he was commissioner of the New York Police New York Police may refer to:
Childhood inspiration His sixth-floor office in Parker Center is filled with police memorabilia: shiny New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. police badges displayed in boxes; baseball caps; British police-style bobby hats; toy police cars. Bratton picks up a 1954 book called ``Your Police,'' about the New York Police Department. He used to check the book out from the Boston Library as a kid. Now a tattered copy sits on a shelf next to his meeting table. It cemented his views about becoming a cop. On the floor next to a leather executive sofa sit several framed magazine covers such as Time and other general interest newsmagazines and assorted trade magazines that feature him on the cover. Assorted books about crime fighting line the shelves, along with pictures of Theodore Roosevelt. On one wall is a shadow box with a photo of Theodore Roosevelt and a quote, ``The Best Executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling med·dle intr.v. med·dled, med·dling, med·dles 1. To intrude into other people's affairs or business; interfere. See Synonyms at interfere. 2. To handle something idly or ignorantly; tamper. .'' On another shelf are photos of Bratton shaking hands with FBI Director Robert Mueller. Bratton with the elder President Bush. Photos of his wife, trial attorney and Court TV anchor Rikki Klieman, hang prominently above his desk. Meeting the public At 2:40 p.m., a group from the Japanese business community files into his office to present him with a check for $3,000 that will go to the Police Foundation. An LAPD photographer captures the moment. The group shares with Bratton details of a recent parade in Little Tokyo that celebrated Japanese heritage. Bratton admits he was out of town and apologizes. ``Did it look like the movie 'The Last Samurai?' Bratton quips. The room erupts in laughter. He gives them a gift - tiny replica chief's badges - and adds, ``It won't help you get out of a ticket, so don't go speeding.'' By 3 p.m., Bratton is on the seventh floor of Parker Center, taping his monthly message to his troops. He stands under a 1,000-watt light behind a burgundy leather chair, hands crossed over the back of the chair as he reads from a TelePrompTer. Before the shoot, Grady rifles through her purse to retrieve some rice paper, which Bratton grabs and dabs his forehead with to reduce the glare. Then his Blackberry pager vibrates on his duty belt - a motorcycle officer down in South L.A. ``It doesn't appear to be serious,'' the chief says, then resumes his taping. After a few false starts, Bratton tapes his 10-minute message, restating his goal of reducing violent crime by 20 percent and forging into the 21st century. The message will be played at roll calls in front of 9,200 troops across 18 police divisions over the next week. Personnel decisions After 4 p.m., Bratton meets behind doors with Gerald Chaleff, who heads the consent decree A settlement of a lawsuit or criminal case in which a person or company agrees to take specific actions without admitting fault or guilt for the situation that led to the lawsuit. A consent decree is a settlement that is contained in a court order. bureau, Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell, Berkow, and about a dozen Internal Affairs officers. For hours, they pore over a couple dozen administrative, criminal and officer-involved-shooting cases. Bratton decides the officers' fates. By 6:45 p.m., Bratton's SUV is on the road again en route to a Boyle Heights high school where City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo is giving a talk about neighborhood prosecution efforts. From the school, Bratton leaves Boyle Heights at 7:15 p.m., and heads to the popular downtown steakhouse Nick & Stef's. He stands on the sidewalk waiting for his wife. ``She's been out of town, so I look forward to getting reacquainted with her,'' Bratton says. Klieman arrives at the restaurant in a Crown Victoria with a police escort. She and Bratton hug and kiss. It's nearly 8 p.m. and they're hungry. They walk arm-in-arm into the restaurant. Bratton's 12-hour day is over - unless there's trouble and he gets the call. Jason Kandel, (818) 713-3664 jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Chief Bratton jokes around on the ``Morning Show'' set at KTLA studios in Hollywood after making an appearance on the show where he talked about a countywide sales tax increase. (2 -- color) Chief William Bratton watches firearms examiners inspect shell casings at the LAPD's crime lab in early April. The lab is in sad shape, with cracked acoustic ceilings and plywood walls. (3 -- color) Bratton practices the proper method of disarming an attacker during a self-defense class - part of the 200-hour training program required of all peace officers in the state. (4 -- color) In his sixth-floor office at Parker Center, Bratton shows a copy of the book he read as a child in Boston in the mid 1950s that inspired him to become a police officer. Daily News photos by Michael Owen Baker |
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