FEDS GIVE CITY ULTIMATUM ON POLICE REFORM.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

The Justice Department lawyer spearheading the demands for LAPD reform told the City Council in uncompromising terms Wednesday that the city faces two choices: Agree quickly to a federal court consent decree or face a lawsuit that could mean stricter controls.

U.S. Assistant Attorney General Bill Lann Lee, a former Los Angeles civil rights attorney who heads the Justice Department's civil rights division, issued the ultimatum during a brief presentation to the council as it prepares next week to go over the 84-page document in a paragraph-by- paragraph review.

Speaking softly but with a stern precision to an unusually quiet council chamber, Lee said the city's problems with trying to reform the Police Department date back a decade when it failed to fully implement the Christopher Commission recommendations.

``This time, police reform must remain at the top of the city's agenda for as long as it takes to get the job done,'' Lee said.

To do so, he said, could only be accomplished with the city agreeing to a consent decree monitored by the federal courts in Los Angeles with an independent monitor overseeing the reform process.

Lee took only two questions from council members and then rushed off to catch a flight to Washington, D.C. Police officers blocked off City Hall doors and hallways to prevent him from being followed.

The issue of a consent decree - which Justice Department officials want completed by the end of the month - has been a major stumbling block in the negotiations, with Mayor Richard Riordan and Police Chief Bernard C. Parks pushing instead for a different type of agreement known as a memorandum of understanding.

City Attorney James Hahn has argued the city should sign the consent decree, negotiated in secret since May, to avoid tougher restrictions from a federal lawsuit.

Nine council members - one short of the number needed to override a Riordan veto - appear to support the consent decree with Northeast Valley Councilman Alex Padilla undecided and Council President John Ferraro too ill to attend a meeting.

Lee made clear he wants a consent decree and he wants it soon.

``We have been negotiating with the city for four months,'' Lee said. ``We have been investigating for four years. We need to get this done.

``It is a solemn decision for me when it comes to filing litigation. We do it because we mean it.''

On the costs of reforms - estimated at up to $45 million a year - as well as the need for a consent decree, Lee said the proposals being made were not new.

``We have taken the best ideas from the city of Los Angeles and put that in the consent decree,'' Lee said. ``As for costs, the Los Angeles Police Department has a more than $1 billion budget. We believe the funds can be found.''

Lee also voiced confidence the federal government would win in court based on the Rampart Division corruption case and the admissions contained in an LAPD Board of Inquiry report into that situation.

Part of the problem within the LAPD was its failure to implement a computerized tracking system - for which the federal government provided seed money - to track problem officers.

If such a system had been in place, Lee said, he believes the Rampart Division problems would have been either discovered earlier or minimized.

Lee said he appreciated the city's willingness to negotiate and took note that several of the reforms called for in the consent decree proposal are under way.

But, he said, the consent decree was needed to assure the reforms continued in a timely fashion along with other proposals, including a racial profiling system for all motorist and pedestrian stops by officers.

In addition, he said the agreement will provide for a strengthening of the civilian oversight of the Police Commission, expand Internal Investigations, provide a closer examination of the department's disciplinary process and attempt to deal with retaliation against officers who report allegations of wrongdoing.

The council has scheduled to hold a special meeting and public hearing at 10 a.m. Monday, where Council President Pro Tem Ruth Galanter said she hopes review the agreement to try to develop council consensus on the issues.