HANDLING OF COMPLAINTS QUESTIONED LAPD'S REPUTATION AT STAKE, TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS SAY.

Byline: Dan Laidman Staff Writer

Two City Council members, including former Police Chief Bernard Parks, called Friday for more details on the LAPD's handling of complaints, saying they are concerned about officers' relationship with the public.

In a strongly worded letter to the Police Commission, Parks and Councilwoman Jan Perry asked for more information to find out if allegations against officers are being handled properly.

``After careful examination, you will find that there has been a conscious effort to de-emphasize the importance of officer misconduct throughout the department,'' they wrote.

Chief William Bratton could not be reached for comment Friday, but he told the Police Commission earlier this week that ``this department takes the issue of discipline very seriously.''

Complaints against police and other department staff rose to 6,520 last year, up from 6,471 in 2004 and 5,276 in 2003, officials said this week.

Meanwhile, 421 employees were disciplined last year, compared with 784 in 2004 and 645 in 2003.

Los Angeles Police Department officials, however, say the numbers tell an incomplete story.

Cmdr. Eric Lillo, head of the Internal Affairs Group, said in an interview that weighing current complaint and discipline statistics against those of several years ago is ``comparing apples and oranges.''

The rules for lodging complaints against LAPD personnel used to be more restrictive, but changes in the late 1990s - when Parks became chief - required supervisors to log all allegations.

After a dip in complaints around 2003, an audit found the new rules were not being followed. Since then, LAPD leadership has tried to re-emphasize taking all complaints.

``Lots of times people will make a complaint that under the old system would never be dreamed of as a complaint,'' Lillo said. ``All they have to do is say they want to make a complaint and we take the complaint no matter what they are alleging.''

As for discipline, Lillo called the numbers for previous years artificially high because the LAPD was clearing out a backlog of allegations.

But Parks and Perry also echoed the concerns of some on the Police Commission, accusing the department of ``misleading reporting'' for including transferred employees with those who have been fired in a recent report.

The category refers to civilian employees who move to different city jobs, Lillo said. While he did not have an exact figure for last year, he said, it would be very unusual for any to have been transferred if they had discipline pending.

Parks was known for issuing strict discipline during his tenure as chief from 1997 to 2002, resulting in some clashes with the officers union.

Ex-Mayor James Hahn brought Bratton in to lead the department the following year.

Parks said in an interview that he raised the concerns because the numbers seem to underscore discontent he has heard in his South Los Angeles district.

``The relationship with the public is a key indicator of how the public views the Police Department and also if the public acts out against the police,'' he said.

``Whether we eventually end up with civil unrest is generally predicated not on an incident or the (immediate) cause but what people believe to be their deteriorating relationship with the police.''

The Police Commission is scheduled to revisit the issue at its meeting Tuesday.

Dan Laidman, [phone]

dan.laidman(at)dailynews.com