TWO GUYS GONE BAD: THE COP: FORMER LAPD DEPUTY CHIEF ADMITS HAVING SEX WITH SUBORDINATE.

Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer

A former Los Angeles deputy police chief hand-picked by Chief William Bratton to rein in officer misconduct admitted he had sex with a woman who worked for him in internal affairs, according to court records made public Tuesday.

Michael Berkow, now chief of police in Savannah, Ga., is being sued by another ex-subordinate who claims her LAPD career suffered while other female officers got preferential treatment for having sex with the married deputy chief.

Berkow conceded in a deposition for the lawsuit in October that he had a three-year sexual encounter with an LAPD sergeant who was later promoted, but he said it did not affect their professional relationship.

``My relationship with her was off duty,'' Berkow told attorney Bradley Gage in transcripts of the deposition.

Gage represents Sgt. Ya-May Christle, who alleges that Berkow offered promotions for sex, and that she was transferred from the Internal Affairs Group and demoted from sergeant to detective after reporting her boss's trysts.

Policy violation

According to LAPD rules, Berkow's affair would violate department policy unless it was specifically approved by Bratton, Berkow's direct supervisor.

Bratton defended Berkow last week as an ``outstanding police officer.'' The chief was traveling Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.

Parts of Berkow's deposition were made public Tuesday after Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William F. Fahey refused a request by the city and Berkow to keep the embarrassing admissions confidential.

Attorney Clint Robison, who represents Berkow and the city in Christle's lawsuit, had argued that making Berkow's deposition public would have violated his right to privacy.

Gage said that in a separate deposition, a different female LAPD officer who was promoted while she was under Berkow's command at the LAPD admitted to having sexual relations with him before he came to the department in 2003. Her story was substantiated by Robison.

In addition, Gage said a female captain in internal affairs who went on dinner dates with Berkow was allowed to stay in her position longer than allowed under the LAPD consent decree.

In a joint statement released Tuesday with Savannah City Manager Michael B. Brown, Berkow said the affair he acknowledged in the deposition occurred at a difficult time in his life.

``My wife and I were having marital problems at the time and were effectively living in two different cities ... I deeply regret this fact and the pain that I have caused all parties.''

But he said Christle's allegations in the lawsuit were false and that he looked forward to his day in court.

While Brown said Berkow revealed the lawsuit to city officials before he was hired in the fall, the city manager said he wished Berkow had provided more details about the matter.

``I am extremely distressed about his personal behavior ... and I wish he had used better judgment,'' Brown said. He added that that kind of behavior ``will not be accepted in Savannah.''

Apart from the sex-for-promotions allegations, Christle's lawsuit claims she was retaliated against when she complained to the inspector general about evidence taken from her internal-affairs computer relating to the murder investigation of rapper Christopher Wallace, known as Notorious B.I.G.

Gage said the Berkow depositions are ``the smoking gun'' in his case.

``Female employees went on dates with Berkow or had sex with him and they had benefits that my client didn't have,'' Gage said. ``Sgt. Christle made complaints that there were violations of the law and she was retaliated against.''

But Robison said Christle's case so far is based on ``allegations that in our view seem as thin as the air.''

Lawsuit questioned

Christle didn't witness any exchange of favors, Robison said. Plus, testimony from several LAPD employees contradicts many of Christle's allegations, including that she was demoted, he said. Robison said Christle requested a transfer from internal affairs, although Christle's attorney said she sought the transfer after being told she would be pushed out of the division.

The LAPD manual states that supervisors should avoid personal relationships with subordinates because ``decisions made by that superior relative to the subordinate may become suspect and compromise the integrity of those involved.''

According to policy, employees are supposed to alert their commanding officer who has the responsibility to take action and remove any potential conflict of interest.

LAPD officials would not say whether Berkow ever mentioned the affairs to Bratton.

``There is nothing more that he is going to say about it. It's being investigated and it's under litigation,'' LAPD spokesman Lt. Paul Vernon said.

Normally, the Professional Standards Bureau, which oversees internal affairs, would investigate charges of police misbehavior, but to avoid a conflict of interest, the LAPD assigned the case to its consent decree bureau. The results of the investigation will go up the chain of command to Bratton's chief of staff, Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell.

A member of Bratton's inner circle, Berkow came to the LAPD in 2003 as the first outsider appointed to a sworn staff officer position. Prior to that assignment, he had been the chief of the Irvine and South Pasadena police departments.

Christle joined the LAPD in 1989 and was assigned to internal affairs in 2003, later becoming an investigator for the Workplace Investigation Unit.

Christle's case, which was filed in May, said Berkow converted a police investigation room in the Professional Standards Bureau into a bedroom, and that she witnessed a woman frequently leaving the room. Berkow would emerge later wearing a white T-shirt and pajama bottoms.

According to her complaint, Berkow allegedly gave in exchange for sex special treatment to a female police officer under investigation for lying to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department about a car accident.

Claims of conspiracy

In addition, Christle claimed that after compiling information about Notorious B.I.G., her computer was removed because it contained claims from some witnesses that LAPD officers were involved in his slaying. She said it was part of an LAPD conspiracy to hide incriminating evidence in the $363 million wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the rapper's family.

Christle made a misconduct report to the Office of Inspector General in February 2005, citing both the sexual relationships and the missing computer information.

Her attorney said Christle was demoted, denied an evaluation and lost wages and benefits after she reported misconduct.

In addition, she alleges, she suffered discrimination in the department because of ``paramour favoritism,'' or promotions offered to women who slept with Berkow.

Generally, the courts and equal employment experts say one supervisor-employee affair isn't enough to prove discrimination. But there can be a case when there is a pattern of a supervisor having sexual relationships with subordinates and showing favoritism to those employees.

``If I did it once, I could get away with it,'' said Joel Kirchner, an employment law specialist with Latham & Watkins.

``But if it develops into a pattern, then it becomes discrimination for the women who didn't have sex and didn't get treated better.''

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com

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