COURTS' DEPUTIES OUT 'SICK' OVER PACT.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

Reacting to a sickout involving more than 90 Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies, the Los Angeles Police Department had to pull up to 30 officers off the streets Tuesday to drive inmates back and forth to court.

Sheriff's Cmdr. Luis Najera, the court services division chief, said operations have been affected since Monday as deputies in the transportation unit have called in sick because of a contract dispute with the county Board of Supervisors.

The Sheriff's Department has also had to pull 60 deputies a day out of its jails to transport prisoners across the county.

``We've had to improvise,'' Najera said. ``We've been working very well with the courts.''

He also said the LAPD is working closely with the Sheriff's Department to keep the justice system moving forward.

``Right now is a difficult time,'' Najera said. ``They work together with us. We work together with them. We don't want anybody to be released. This is out of the ordinary.''

Tuesday was the second day that the Los Angeles Superior Court was affected by the sickout. Judges have set up a priority system for accused criminals who must appear in court.

Inmates who are scheduled to begin trial, who are in trial or who have critical hearings, like arraignments, have all made their appearances, said Los Angeles Superior Court spokesman Scott Parachini.

``All of the rest of the in-custodies - their cases are backing up, and we are accumulating a backlog,'' Parachini said. ``We cannot measure yet how big the backlog will be or when we will be back to normal. It depends how long this lasts.''

Steve Remige, vice president of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, said the union - which is trying to negotiate a new contract for the deputies - had been ``surprised by this.''

He said union officials were notified late Monday morning about deputies calling in sick, and that it had been ``completely unbeknownst to anybody down here.'' He said it was ``absolutely not'' organized by the union, but said he thought union members are frustrated.

Jim Adams, a division chief of the county employee relations department, said the deputies' contract is set to expire by the end of this month. He said the deputies are frustrated because the negotiating process has been slow, and that the proposal itself may fall short after months of waiting.

``They are kind of anxious,'' Adams said. ``I hope we are able to find areas of agreement as quickly as we can.''

Kathryn Barger, chief of staff to county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, said so far the sickouts have not resulted in the release of any defendants. She also said Antonovich is working on the negotiations.

``The supervisor continues to support the need to pursue bargaining with the sheriff's deputies who are on the front lines,'' Barger said. ``The supervisor is well aware of their frustration and continues to push to have them sit down at the bargaining table.''

City News Service contributed to this story.

Jason Kandel, [phone]

jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com