COMMISSION RAPS CITY HALL POLICE PANEL SAYS AUTHORITY BEING USURPED.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard and Mariel Garza Staff Writers

Los Angeles Police Commission President Rick Caruso sharply criticized the City Council and City Hall bureaucrats for getting in the way of the commission's agenda.

Caruso blasted a council panel for involving itself in oversight matters that the City Charter assigns to the commission.

``It seems to me that there is very a directed effort on the part of somebody to try and pre-empt the commission's role in this, and I just think that's wrong,'' he said. ``We need to protect and defend our role because there will be people who will want to chip away at our authority.''

And on a separate topic, Caruso lashed out after officials undermined claims that the Parker Center police headquarters was unsafe and could not be renovated. Officials of the Los Angeles Police Department told the commission that inspectors have found ``no imminent risk'' in remaining at the aging facility.

Caruso, who has been pushing for an immediate evacuation of Parker Center within 90 days, said: ``So fiberglass in the air, asbestos, no life safety systems - there's no risk to employees? Even though we did a study a couple of years ago that said they couldn't be renovated, now all of a sudden they can be?''

The remarks followed earlier criticism of the council's second-guessing the commission's new policy on LAPD response to burglar alarms.

In an interview, Caruso said he has been trying to reassert the commission's authority in the face of efforts to undercut it.

``I have no qualms in being firm on reinforcing who's the head of the department,'' Caruso said.

``That's one of the benefits this commission has brought to the table in the last two years. So when any organization or group is looking to take away some of our authority or not respect our authority, I'm going to stand up and make sure we get counted, and make sure the commission is heard on the appropriate issues.''

On the Parker Center issue, Caruso said he still believes the 90-day time line could have been met if not for resistance and ``excuses'' by the city bureaucracy.

``The task isn't difficult. It's difficult when you're incapable of doing the task. If you had the basic knowledge, it's not a difficult task.''

He added that he thinks he has made some progress in changing city officials' attitudes toward the commission, but he is still pushing.

``I think the bureaucracy is difficult to deal with and I think the politics is difficult to deal with. It's just not bureaucracy alone. A lot of people have vested interests and I think they're more concerned with political maneuvering than what's in the best interest of the city or the department. That's why a lot of stuff in the city doesn't get done that should've gotten done.''

At the commission's regular meeting Tuesday, Caruso - and other commissioners - took issue with the City Council's Public Safety Committee for holding a meeting Monday to discuss recommendations from former Inspector General Jeffrey Eglash on improving the oversight of the LAPD.

The Eglash memo suggested that the inspector general report both to the council and Police Commission, and that the position be given more independence in pursuing investigations into officer discipline, officer-involved shootings and uses of force.

``I don't know how this meeting was initiated yesterday, but I quite frankly take some offense to it because if we need to have a dialogue on the role of the position, it needs to be with this body,'' Caruso said.

Commissioners Rose Ochi and David Cunningham agreed, asserting that the City Charter clearly places the authority with the Police Commission.

``I think we're all very jealous of the Police Commission's authority and don't want to see it denigrated or diminished,'' Ochi said. ``But the council, I think it's appropriate for them - as we're thinking of making some changes - to take a look.''

Councilman Jack Weiss said Caruso's displeasure is not going to stop him or the Public Safety Committee from discussing how to improve that position, including having the inspector general report to the council.

``I look forward to speaking with Mr. Caruso to make it clear that our interests here are not personal, they're institutional. We need to make sure the institution of the position of inspector general is strengthened.''

In another development Tuesday, the full City Council gave preliminary approval to building the new police headquarters downtown, a project expected to cost up to $285 million.

The council approved a study to find a site - for a building of 350,000 to 500,000 square feet - with a plan to finance it at an approximate cost of $15 million to $19 million a year.

The council approved the study unanimously without comment.

Questions remain about whether Parker Center needs to be vacated immediately or whether the current building can be repaired.

Bill Moran, a retired police administrator who is now a consultant to the LAPD, said the city's Bureau of Engineering has recommended repairs, such as inadequate fire safety systems, to keep it functional.

Police Chief William Bratton said in an interview that the ideal ``would be to get out of Parker Center within the next year into temporary quarters while the new Parker Center is built. The debate is whether we stay in Parker Center and renovate it in a limited fashion or we move to temporary quarters. That has been and continues to be the crux of the issue.''

Some City Council members want the department to look at decentralizing some functions to areas like the San Fernando Valley or San Pedro.

``I think when you look at the whole concept in the Police Department of a headquarters facility, it's just that - that you have all your main functions together in one place so that you have communication between the entities,'' said Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell. ``That's a critical link you lose when you have the geographic separation that's been proposed.''

City News Service contributed to this report.