OFFICIALS FIGHT FOR LAPD HEARING ACCESS VILLARAIGOSA, ROMERO SEEK LEGISLATION TO OPEN DISCIPLINARY PROCESS.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

Citing a desire to restore the public's trust in the LAPD, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Sen. Gloria Romero said Monday that they will seek legislation to overturn a state Supreme Court ruling that closed public access to police disciplinary hearings.

Public outcry over a Board of Rights hearing that cleared Los Angeles police Officer Steven Garcia in the death of 13-year-old car-theft suspect Devin Brown -- an incident the Police Commission deemed to be out of policy -- prompted the officials to seek a return to a more transparent process.

``Opening the disciplinary process is simple common sense,'' Villaraigosa said during a news conference in the Crenshaw District, where a Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration was being held.

``It's good for everyone involved. It's good for the public. It's good for the officers and it's good for the department. It's good for the integrity of the system.

``People have a right to know how discipline is administered, and officers have a right to make their case to the public.''

Under the voter-approved City Charter, the commission determines whether a use-of-force incident complies with Los Angeles Police Department policy, while an independent Board of Rights reviews the incident to determine discipline.

The process -- negotiated by the Charter Reform Commission and the police union -- requires public proceedings.

That changed last year when the California Supreme Court ruled in a San Diego case that the Police Officers Bill of Rights requires disciplinary actions to be confidential.

In the Brown case, Garcia authorized the public release of his Board of Rights records after the results were reported by local media.

The Board of Rights determined that Garcia should not be punished -- a decision at odds with the commission's ruling that Brown's shooting violated LAPD policy.

``Reasonable people can disagree,'' said Villaraigosa, who had supported the commission's decision. ``In this case, the board said the officer reacted out of fear for his life. What's important is to have a system that is open so the public knows why they reached that decision.''

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, vowed to fight any effort to reopen the hearings.

``The LAPPL strongly supports the California Supreme Court ruling that police officers have the right to keep their personnel records private,'' League President Bob Baker said in a statement.

``Law enforcement officers are already vulnerable to criminals intent on doing them harm and we need to be able to protect the safety as well as the privacy of our officers and their families.

``The Board of Rights hearings are being miscategorized by many people in the community. The public is represented by civilian Board of Rights members and the inspector general.''

Police Commission President John Mack said he had worked 20 years to get the LAPD's disciplinary process open to the public.

``One of the concerns of the African-American community is that there had been no public access to this and no one knew if officers were being disciplined,'' Mack said. ``What this court ruling has done is bring that back. It's like the Police Commission has a chokehold around its neck.''

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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