COPS BACK COOLEY IN POLL 80% OF DEPUTIES PICK CHALLENGER.

Byline: Greg Gittrich Staff Writer

More than 80 percent of Los Angeles county sheriff's deputies polled by their largest labor union support prosecutor Steve Cooley in his bid to unseat District Attorney Gil Garcetti, union officials said Thursday.

And according to several Los Angeles Police Department sources, the LAPD's largest labor union, the Police Protective League, also is reconsidering its earlier support of Garcetti and will make a final decision next week.

About 1,000 sheriff's deputies returned ballots to the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs before Wednesday's deadline, marking the first time the rank and file participated in the endorsement process. Cooley received 83 percent of the vote, with Garcetti taking the remaining 17 percent.

``The results of the balloting indicate a clear and decisive preference for Steve Cooley,'' said ALADS President Roy Burns.

The union's political committee will review the results next week, then forward a recommendation to the ALADS board for approval. The union has about 6,000 members.

``The ALADS poll is the latest indication of law enforcement agencies lacking confidence in Gil Garcetti,'' Cooley said. ``Garcetti's campaign is in somewhat of a free fall.''

Cooley, a San Fernando Valley resident, said the support from the deputies is ``very heartening.''

Last week, another law enforcement association, the California Organization of Police and Sheriffs, withdrew its endorsement of Garcetti but did not immediately back Cooley.

Erik Nasarenko, Garcetti's campaign manager, downplayed the ALADS vote, insisting the results did not truly represent the union's position.

``This is the first of several steps in their endorsement process, and less than 20 percent of their members participated,'' Nasarenko said. ``The results are strictly advisory and nonbinding.''

Nasarenko added: ``Given that Mr. Garcetti's office is aggressively investigating and prosecuting LAPD police officers (from the Rampart Division), it's not surprising that those vigorous actions have affected other police unions.''

A recent poll of county voters showed Cooley, a relative unknown before he won the March primary, has vaulted out ahead of Garcetti by a 3-to-1 margin.