CLOONEY JOINS CALL FOR TOUGHER PAPARAZZI LAW.

Byline: Beth Barrett Daily News Staff Writer

As the world focused on the sometimes dangerous cat-and-mouse relationship between paparazzi and chauffeurs to the stars, Los Angeles drivers and security experts said Tuesday that Princess Diana's death sadly proves the need for tougher laws to protect their celebrity passengers.

``There have been numerous times when people try to follow the cars,'' said Jim Baron, a former chauffeur who now oversees operations at one of Southern California's largest companies.

``Something needs to be done to try to prevent it, to make it a more serious crime to follow at all,'' said Baron, vice president of operations for Burbank-based Music Express Limousine Inc.

Such measures would help ensure ``Diana didn't die in vain,'' he said.

Celebrities and lawmakers stepped up their call for stricter sanctions to guard against the zealous, often-ruthless free-lance photographers.

George Clooney, a star of NBC television's ``ER'' and a ``Batman'' movie, denounced paparazzi tactics at a news conference and singled out Steve Coz, editor of the National Enquirer.

``The Princess of Wales is dead, and you (Coz) have gone on television, and you have washed your hands, and you have deflected responsibility, and yet I wonder how you sleep at night. You should be ashamed,'' Clooney said.

Clooney said tabloid journalists have no right to claim that they are merely supplying what people want.

``If you weren't hiding behind the profession of journalism,'' he said, ``you would be an accomplice to a crime - and you would go to jail.''

On the front lines, veteran drivers like Baron called the frequency of pursuits between chauffeurs and paparazzi ``an ongoing problem.''

Anthony Pellicano, who handles security strategies for many L.A. stars, says the city's paparazzi have grown more aggressive over the years as tabloids pay more for compromising or provocative shots.

Harassment worsening

``The fact is, they try to infuriate and intimidate celebrities,'' Pellicano said. ``It's gotten worse in Los Angeles, which you can judge by the amount of photos. It's not unusual to see 15 or 20 guys trailing someone in L.A. You have chase cars and pickup cars with the cameras.''

Pellicano said he counsels his celebrities to never get into a provocative situation. ``I tell them to smile, give a good profile shot and try to walk away,'' he said.

Ken Orsatti, executive director of the 90,000-member Screen Actors Guild, announced support for protecting celebrities from ``tabloid bounty hunters.''

Lawmakers and others grappled this week for a solution to paparazzi aggression - including separate legislation being drafted by state Sens. Tom Hayden, D-Los Angeles, and Charles Calderon, D-Montebello.

Their proposals focus on harassment and invasion of privacy. Calderon's would require photographers to stay at least 15 feet from their subjects. The plan will be modeled after laws restricting anti-abortion demonstrators at clinics.

``The introduction of this bill is a starting point - a message to paparazzi and the tabloids who buy their photos that we will not tolerate harassment, spectacle or endangerment of people's lives,'' Calderon said in a statement.

Existing laws enough

Police and some limousine company representatives said anti-stalking laws already are on the books and new laws would have to weigh free-speech issues.

``We don't need special laws to deal with reckless driving. The ones we have are perfectly adequate,'' said LAPD Lt. Greg Meyer, watch commander at West Traffic Division.

Jerrie Heslov, vice president for Dav El of Beverly Hills, said his drivers use limousines with darkened car windows and are trained to never speed.

Authorities also pointed to California laws controlling drug and alcohol abuse by chauffeurs.

Under a law that took effect Jan. 1, 1996, limousine drivers are subject to random alcohol and drug tests, said Charles Kirksey, `senior investigator with the state Public Utilities Commission. A driver who fails a drug test would no longer be able to drive, pending treatment and recertification.

Since the law was enacted, there have been about half a dozen drivers to receive positive tests, said James Westfall of the commission's license section in San Francisco. The PUC gets results only of owner-operators, he added.

Drivers' test results are kept by the company, not reported to the PUC, and it is the company's responsibility to take them off the road, send them for treatment and take other action to retrain them, he said.

Because the driver in the fatal crash in Paris worked for a hotel, California law wouldn't have required him to undergo drug and alcohol testing.