POLICE UNION WON'T BACK ANY CANDIDATE.

Byline: Mariel Garza Staff Writer

Critical of the lack of current LAPD members among the finalists, the union representing rank-and-file Los Angeles police officers announced Thursday that it will not endorse any of the three candidates for police chief.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League announced its position a day after Mayor James Hahn said it would not be helpful to have the union weigh in on who should be selected.

The union interviewed Oxnard Police Chief Art Lopez on Tuesday and William Bratton, former head of the New York Police Department, on Wednesday. They have yet to hear from the third candidate, John Timoney, who is a former commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department.

Hahn has not yet decided who of the three should be the next chief. But some rank-and-file officers and elected officials have said Lopez, a former Los Angeles Police Department deputy chief and 27-year veteran of the department, is the right choice.

Councilman Nick Pacheco has publicly backed Lopez.

Councilman Nate Holden, thwarted by LAPD officials in his effort to personally survey officers on their choice, voiced his concerns about the two East Coast candidates and the situations of the cities - New York and Philadelphia - which they policed.

Also, the organization representing Latino rank-and-file officers said Thursday that it will support Lopez, according to the group's president.

Originally, the Latin American Law Enforcement Association, called La Ley, threw its support behind LAPD Cmdr. George Gascon.

``Since he's out of the picture, out of those three, we determined the best one would be Lopez,'' said Detective Art Placencia, president of La Ley. Placencia said the board wanted to back the candidate it thinks has insight into the department and its problems.

``The other two guys don't know nothing about Los Angeles,'' Placencia said.

``They don't know nothing about the department, nothing about the community.''