LAPD'S WEAPON POLICY ATTACKED; GUN PERMITS AT ISSUE IN SUIT.

Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer

Lawyers for the Los Angeles Police Department will be back in court Friday defending Chief Bernard C. Parks' decision to deny all new requests for concealed weapons permits since he took office in August.

Parks' hard line on the permits follows a five-year period during which some 158 concealed weapon permits were issued under his predecessor, former LAPD chief Willie L. Williams.

The department started issuing the permits to residents in 1994 under the terms of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by 37 residents who were angry that the LAPD had not issued concealed-weapon permits to residents in 17 years.

But now lawyers for the plaintiffs in that suit have gone back to court, claiming Parks is failing to fulfill the terms of the settlement, denying more than 60 renewal requests and more than 100 applications for new permits.

At his monthly news conference Wednesday, Parks denied that he is indiscriminately rejecting all applications, claiming instead that he is reviewing each on a case-by-case basis to see if applicants can prove there is a tangible threat to their safety.

Some who received permits at the time of the settlement have been denied a renewal because they no longer meet the standards, he said.

``They were approved as part of the settlement, but they are not within our guidelines,'' Parks said.

Deputy City Attorney Byron Boeckman said that under the deal reached with the plaintiffs, each applicant has to show a compelling need to carry a concealed weapon. ``The chief is looking at each case to see if good cause is shown on a case-by-case basis,'' Boeckman said.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs has ordered lawyers for the LAPD to show cause at a hearing Friday why the city should not be held in contempt of court for violating the court-ordered judgment.

While Williams approved 158 concealed weapon permits, within the last year Parks has turned down more than 60 renewal applications and more than 100 new applications. Since the permits have to be renewed annually, the number of active permits has slumped to about 65.

The lawyers for the plaintiffs, William Crawford and Burton Jacobson, said they both personally have been denied renewals for their concealed weapon permits since Parks took office.

They complained to the judge about 19 other denials for permits and allege that Parks has returned to the pre-settlement policy of rejecting all concealed weapon permits.

``When Chief Parks came along, he just said no. Unless you have an immediate, life-threatening situation backed up by a recent police report, you can't get a permit,'' Crawford said.

But Crawford said the 1994 judgment against the city requires the LAPD to use ``reasonable standards'' in considering permit applications rather than simply rejecting all such requests.