SOUTHLANDERS MOURN TRANSFER OF BEAT COPS.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY 

They refuse to go quietly into the night, so they meet for coffee in the morning. And what happens next could turn out to be very interesting.

Page Miller stops by Sandy Munz's place in North Hollywood, and they go through the list of RSVPs they've already received for this mock wake they're throwing in a couple of weeks for 168 Los Angeles Police Department officers.

No, they didn't die. They've all been transferred back to patrol units after serving long stints as senior lead officers dealing one-on-one with the people in their communities.

They were the closest thing we had to the old beat cop, and residents involved in Neighborhood Watch programs all over this city miss them big time.

They want them back, but so far the LAPD brass isn't budging.

``I got a call from a Neighborhood Watch captain from over the hill in the Wilshire Division yesterday,'' Miller is telling Munz. ``He said they're bringing a couple of van loads of people over for the memorial.''

The women smile and put a check by another name. It's working. This small groundswell of grass-roots protest over the passing of their old beat cop is slowly building into what they and a lot of others are hoping will be a tidal wave of community anger hitting City Hall pols and LAPD brass.

Miller and Marz have already heard from the leaders of most of the Neighborhood Watch programs in LAPD's 18 citywide divisions, and all of them are planning to attend the mock wake with their members to pay their respects to the dearly departed.

``We're not going to let these officers go without a fight,'' Marz says. ``We want our beat cops back.''

The memorial - set for May 8 at 1 p.m. in Van Nuys' Woodley Park - is a not-so-subtle backhanded slap at Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, who dismantled the program instituted about nine years ago by then-Deputy Police Chief Mark Kroeker and expanded over the years.

Kroeker liked the concept of more community policing and thought it could be enhanced by bringing back a version of the old beat cop to have a one-on-one relationship with people in the neighborhoods. Parks sees it a little differently.

A spokesman for Parks said Friday that the chief didn't want to talk about the planned memorial celebration for the officers and that he's already been out in the community explaining why he changed the program.

``We understand that people develop a relationship working with one individual, and while we appreciate our officers being thought of fondly like this, the chief feels it is important that every one of our officers gains some community experience and is available to the public as a senior lead officer,'' said Lt. Tony Alba.

So, instead of one cop you know working the beat, a sergeant in each division is now parceling out different officers to handle calls when they come in from the eyes and ears out in the community.

It isn't working, though, say civilian police community representatives such as Brendan Breslin in Van Nuys and Connie Holmes in the West Valley who coordinate the block captains for hundreds of homes in their areas.

``Let me give you an example,'' Breslin said Friday. ``On March 6, I get a call from one of my block captains who just had a drug deal happen in front of his house. He recognized one of the guys from previous dealings.

``Before, I would call up our senior lead officer, and he'd be out that morning taking down the information to pass it on to narcotics officers. But when I called this time, I got a sergeant's answering machine saying leave a message.

``Four days later, I got a call back,'' Breslin said. ``Two days later, I was referred to another sergeant who told me the information was too old and of no value.

``I'm not blaming the sergeants, because they're overworked, but don't tell me the system is as good as it used to be,'' Breslin said. ``It isn't.''

What's also troubling, say Miller and Munz, is that the number of people attending Neighborhood Watch meetings around the city seems to be dwindling.

``The chief says we can still have our monthly Neighborhood Watch meetings without a senior lead officer being there, but people on the block come to them (the meetings) to see that uniform and a face they recognize,'' Miller said.

``They don't want to hear one of us telling them they need to lock their doors. They want their beat cop.''

So the women continue the fight, refusing to go quietly into the night. They meet for coffee in the morning and plan their next move - a mock wake.

Miller and Munz have sent invitations to all the City Hall pols, with one caveat.

``We've asked that they come, but not speak,'' Miller said. ``They've already had that opportunity, and now it's our turn.''

So far, only Mayor Richard Riordan's office has responded. The mayor won't be able to attend, an aide said. He has a scheduling problem.

For more information on the mock wake supporting the return of beat cops, call [phone] or e-mail sav-r-slosexcite.com.