BRATTON WANTS 5 MORE YEARS AS POLICE CHIEF STILL REJECTS `MYOB' APOLOGY.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

Defiantly refusing to apologize, Police Chief William Bratton declared Wednesday that he will seek a second five-year term as the city's top cop -- setting the stage for a direct confrontation with his City Council critics.

``Certainly, the irony here, the ultimate irony, is that I could be here long after these people are gone,'' Bratton told reporters as he entered a monthly meeting to analyze crime data.

``There will be no apology. The comments I made were my own. I stand by it. A request has been made to the Police Commission to investigate it and it is now, appropriately, in the hands of the Inspector General's Office.''

Bratton will come up for appointment to a second term next year, which would mean he could stay in office until 2012 if reappointed. His reappointment could be blocked only if 10 of the 15 council members lined up against him.

Under the current limit of two terms for elected city officials, seven of the 15 council members will be forced out of office in 2009. That same year, three will be up for re-election. Three more would be termed out in 2011.

On Tuesday, the council approved drafting a measure for the November ballot that would give members an extra four years in office.

``If the voters do extend term limits, then I will be in my ninth or 10th year as chief,'' Bratton said.

Bratton's declaration that he will seek a second term was welcomed Wednesday by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The mayor has lauded Bratton's work and had hoped he would seek a second full term, spokesman Joe Ramallo said.

At the core of the dispute between the chief and five council members who called for a Police Commission investigation of Bratton were remarks made by Councilmen Bernard Parks and Dennis Zine -- both retired from the LAPD.

They said Bratton is lowering the standards for recruiting police officers by allowing in some men and women who acknowledged minor use of illicit drugs during their teens.

Bratton dismissed the criticism, saying Parks and Zine ``don't know what the hell they are talking about'' and insisting that recruits now are going through unprecedented scrutiny and minor drug use is taken in context of their whole lives.

``We will be making a full presentation to the Police Commission in the next several weeks,'' Bratton said. ``We will be open about it. We want the public to see it and we want to assure the public that we will continue to hire the best people available.''

The controversy erupted after Zine and Parks questioned the news that, two years after the LAPD loosened its ``zero tolerance'' drug policy, six officers had been hired who had used hard drugs such as cocaine.

Bratton has said the policy reflects a more modern society that recognizes an officer candidate should not be excluded from consideration because of previous, one-time use of marijuana or similar drugs.

Officials also note that the officers make up less than 1 percent of the 818 officers who have been hired, and that although the officers experimented with hard drugs as teenagers, they later showed the good judgment and strong character required in a police officer.

But Parks and Zine have been among those who questioned the policy, worrying that a change could damage the caliber of the force. Council members Jose Huizar, Tony Cardenas and Jan Perry supported their call for an investigation, an issue referred by the Police Commission to the LAPD's Inspector General's Office.

Council President Eric Garcetti sent his own letter to Bratton, urging him to apologize.

``We are all big boys and girls. We should be able to put this aside and work on the important issues before us, like crime,'' Bratton said, noting he is not the first Los Angeles police chief to offer candid statements regarding city officials.

Former Chiefs Daryl F. Gates and Ed Davis became national figures as a result of some of their comments.

Parks was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but Zine said he doesn't care whether Bratton apologizes -- even though he believes he should be chastised for the remarks.

``What I'm concerned with is the drug policy,'' Zine said. ``We are not for zero tolerance. We recognize that someone might have experimented with marijuana or cocaine when they were a kid.

``What concerns me, and I had 30 years as an officer dealing with this, is if we lower the standards to where we allow people in who used hard drugs,'' Zine said.

At a news conference Wednesday night, Zine made a show of emphasizing that the dispute has not generated animosity between him and Bratton.

``Chief, we gotta give a hug for all the skeptics out there,'' Zine told Bratton. Zine and Bratton then hugged for the media.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League also has raised questions about whether a change in hiring standards is in the best interests of the department and the city.

``We are absolutely opposed to lowering standards,'' League President Bob Baker said. ``Lower standards are an invitation to corrupt cops. A history of drug use is a history of breaking the law, and that should be an absolute barrier to becoming a cop.''

LAPD officials have defended the policy, however, saying screening and standards are actually tougher, and for the past five years also have, for the first time, included polygraph tests for all candidates.

Candidates who admit to drug use are extensively questioned about the details, and screeners consider the applicant's age when they sampled drugs, as well as how long or how many times drugs were used.

Bratton, whose term expires next year, must submit to the Police Commission a formal letter seeking a second term shortly after the first of the year. The commission -- which officials said has yet to discuss what criteria it will use in assessing Bratton -- must decide at least 90 days before his term expires if it wants to rehire him, a decision that is subject to review by the council.

Under the City Charter, the council can overrule the commission's decision by a two-thirds vote.

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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