USE-OF-FORCE PROBES IMPROVED.

Byline: Dan Laidman Staff Writer

Improvements in the Los Angeles Police Department's use-of-force probes have reduced the backlog of cases nearing discipline deadlines, officials said Tuesday.

When the Police Commission approved a slate of changes in November, the LAPD was investigating 38 cases, with five approaching the statute of limitations. That has been reduced to only one out of 34 cases, officials said.

Commission President John Mack called it a step in the right direction and cited his experience as a civil-rights leader in explaining why the panel has made expediting the probes a top priority.

``This is one of the frustrations I heard so often from members of the community: These investigations, why do they take so long?'' Mack said. ``Now in this role I'm equally concerned about how it puts accused officers' lives on hold for long periods of time.''

Speeding up the internal investigations of officer-involved shootings and other serious uses of force was one of the first major initiatives of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's police panel.

The Daily News reported last October that the panel was still waiting to consider 28 cases from 2004, including eight from the previous October. State law gives agencies one year to impose discipline on peace officers unless cases are also tied up in criminal prosecution or litigation.

Last November, the commission directed the LAPD to take seven steps, including shuffling investigative teams and schedules and making greater use of civilian employees for certain tasks.

Another key reform, buying digital recorders to help process copious witness interviews, is still going through the city's bureaucracy.

``We're trying to acquire new equipment for the unit to expedite the investigations,'' LAPD Chief William Bratton said. ``As in all things dealing with (City Hall), nothing happens quickly.''

The commission also voted Tuesday to formalize the existence of the LAPD unit that investigates use-of-force incidents.

The department created the Force Investigation Division in August 2004 in the wake of concerns by the independent monitor overseeing the federal consent decree that regulates the LAPD's conduct.

Commissioner Alan Skobin, the one panelist Villaraigosa retained from the administration of former Mayor James Hahn, said he has seen a marked improvement in the investigations since the unit was formed.

There was a note of sadness to the discussions, however, as a veteran detective in the Force Investigation Division died Sunday after suffering a heart attack while running the Los Angeles Marathon.

Mack and other commission officials said Detective Raul Reyna, 52, had impressed them when they worked together on use-of-force cases.

``He was an extraordinary officer and he'll certainly be missed,'' Bratton said.

Dan Laidman, [phone]

dan.laidman(at)dailynews.com