COPS: THEIR SIDE OF THE STORY ARMCHAIR CRITICS ANGER OFFICERS WHO RISK OWN LIVES MAKING ARRESTS.

Byline: BETH BARRETT Staff Writer

HOLLYWOOD -- Most of the 30 faces in the squad room for evening roll call were young. All of them were impassive in a shared wall of silence.

More than 15 years after the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King by four white officers inflamed a city and rocked the Los Angeles Police Department, officers again find themselves under fire after the emergence of a series of videos showing officers punching and pepper-spraying suspects.

None of the short videos posted on YouTube.com is in the same league as the King video -- and the context in which force is being used is far from clear -- but emotions are running high.

Officers have banded together in the belief they are being unjustly criticized when all they are doing is subduing unruly suspects who could pose a threat to them or others.

``They're so beat up, they're just fed up,'' said Capt. Clay Farrell. ``There may be a similar thought process: `We're being beat up again, and no one believes (us).'''

The Hollywood Division, perhaps more than others, finds itself at the heart of the latest controversy. Two of its own -- Officers Patrick Farrell and Alexander Schlegel -- were shown in one of the recent videos trying to restrain 23-year-old William Cardenas. Farrell is seen punching Cardenas in the face.

Division officers have closed ranks around Farrell and Schlegel, both assigned administrative duties at the station until investigations are concluded.

But the video captured by a bystander has reignited a public outcry over whether the LAPD has reformed its culture in the years since the King beating.

And it has reopened a bitter wound among some officers who feel the LAPD is being too harshly judged by media they consider biased, a public that may fail to appreciate the dangers officers face, and critics eager to see the department fail.

``What I see are a bunch of angry faces,'' Chris Biller told the officers at roll call last Thursday. Biller, who worked at the Hollywood Division before retiring from the West Valley Division, has been organizing pickets over media coverage of the recent videos.

Known affectionately in LAPD ranks as an ``OG'' or ``Old Guy,'' Biller -- on the force for 29 years before retiring -- told the officers they have a right to their feelings but can't afford to lose perspective.

``You are targeted because you are the best,'' the 69-year-old Biller said. ``Hollywood emulates you. Everyone emulates you. So get those sour faces off. Go out there and have fun. Police work is fun. It's funny. It's a sense of humor.

``And don't forget your families. ... Talk to somebody. Seek somebody out. If you're angry, talk to them about it. But above all, be professional.''

Outside the squad room, officers opened up a bit about their feelings as they struggle to fight crime for a public they consider increasingly ready at a hair trigger to record and fault their every move.

``After your nose is broken and you're shot at a couple times, it will change your perspective on life,'' Sgt. David Tomilin said.

Officers say Farrell and Schlegel were hard-working and well-liked by other cops, and the harsh glare of the national spotlight highlights the intense -- and what many consider unfair -- scrutiny of police.

``Even if they are exonerated, it doesn't matter,'' Tomilin said. ``They'll be second-guessed across the country for months.''

Sgt. Bill Duke said the days of the rogue cop are past, largely because of changes put in place since the 1999 Rampart scandal. But he said the microscopic scrutiny and critics' Monday-morning quarterbacking weigh on officers.

``People after a while get disappointed with the rush to judgment,'' said Capt. Farrell. ``They are not happy with the fact that individuals who have zero knowledge of police work, zero life experience of police work and physical confrontation, or zero understanding of our responsibility possess the ability to take an event out of context and to formulate a critical opinion.''

And criticism can wear down officers.

``Officers can, on occasion, be reluctant to engage in proactive police work if they fear they can be hypercritized. ... Our officers are human; they will respond to a barrage of thoughtless criticism.''

Around the water cooler, officers bristle at phrases like ``warrior mentality'' and wonder among themselves whether it's worth it to get involved.

``How do you win a gang fight if you're not a warrior?'' Farrell asked.

The captain said the position of the LAPD, starting with Chief William Bratton, is that officers are to remain proactive in engaging dangerous and predatory criminals and can be assured they'll be treated fairly by the department if that leads to a physical confrontation.

``Thousands of people are in prison who have murdered and slaughtered people in this city. It's those murderers and slaughterers we confront. Somebody has to do something about it, and it's us.''

So far this year, Hollywood officers have made 11,348 arrests in a division that has seen seven homicides, 58 rapes, 778 robberies and 535 aggravated assaults. There also have been 5,136 property crimes.

Last year, Hollywood officers used ``categorical force'' -- including deadly force, carotid restraint holds or a head strike with a weapon such as a baton or flashlight -- four times. Officers used lesser force such as punches 94 times.

``No one is saying, `Don't investigate,''' Lt. Chuck Wampler, with over 30 years of LAPD experience, said of the inquiries launched in connection with the recent videos.

``The problem most people have is there's a larger picture, and only one small segment over a short period of time (is shown). The problem is a rush to judgment.''

Sgt. Karen Leong, who left teaching to become a police officer a decade ago, said officers withhold judgment of one another until investigations are complete.

``We are brothers and sisters,'' she said. ``We're a family.''

Joe Rich, who left Boston six years ago to become an LAPD patrol officer, said he also was disappointed by some criticism.

``It's the same old story: the lawyer with dollar signs in his eyes, the suspect made out to be an altar boy without his criminal history,'' he said.

But John Raphling, attorney for transient Benjamin Barker, who is seen in one of the videos being pepper-sprayed by former LAPD Officer David Guiterman while handcuffed in the back of a patrol car, said police still try to protect their own.

``They say, `We're going to rush to judgment and say (the police conduct) is OK. They don't say, `Maybe (the officer) did something wrong,''' Raphling said.

Civil rights attorney Connie Rice -- who spent three years talking with LAPD officers seven years after the Rampart scandal involving anti-gang officers -- said the officers have a valid point about what they consider a disproportionate focus on the videos.

She said the city's leaders should be concentrating on boosting safety in areas where officers routinely risk their safety, but she also said the LAPD cannot escape its responsibility for any lingering community mistrust.

``I'm not saying they don't have a valid complaint that there's been disproportionate attention paid to this, ... but LAPD has to acknowledge their history,'' Rice said. ``Until they do, the community is not going to trust them, and every video will be used to batter the police.

``They have a role in that lack of trust. They've let too many colleagues get away with (improper conduct). They can't get away from that history until they atone for it.''

beth.barrett(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) Capt. Clay Farrell of the LAPD's Hollywood Division says officers feel beset.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) no caption (William Cardenas video)

(3) no caption (Rodney King video)