ROCKY TENURE ENDS FOR LOS ANGELES PROSECUTOR

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 9 - On Wednesday, Gil Garcetti conceded defeat in
his race for a third term as Los Angeles County district attorney.
The same day, a jury here began deliberating the fate of the first
four officers to be tried in Los Angeles's worst police corruption
scandal in decades.

The scandal was the latest shadow cast on Mr. Garcetti's office in
his eight-year tenure. Mr. Garcetti was known for his accessibility
to the news media, but the attention he received was not always
favorable.

The failure of his office to gain convictions against four white
officers who were videotaped beating Rodney G. King, a black
motorist, led to riots in which more than 50 people were killed and
property damage totaled nearly $1 billion.

The monthslong televised prosecution of O. J. Simpson in the murder
of his former wife and a friend gripped the nation but raised
questions about the competence of Mr. Garcetti's deputies and their
oversight of the Los Angeles police. Mr. Simpson's acquittal in 1995
was a major embarrassment. Mr. Garcetti was almost defeated four
years ago after the Simpson trial.

But the current corruption scandal involving Los Angeles police
officers in the department's Rampart Division may have been the final
blow to Mr. Garcetti's standing. He was defeated on Tuesday by a
longtime assistant district attorney, Steve Cooley, who won 64
percent of the vote.

"I think it's a referendum on the criminal justice system in Los
Angeles," said Erwin Chemerinsky, a University of Southern California
law professor. "I think Garcetti got blamed for many things that
weren't his fault and some things that were his fault."

Specifically, Mr. Chemerinsky said he thought Mr. Garcetti's office
could have done more to detect what was happening in the Rampart
Division. But, he added, the blame seemed to go well beyond that.

"I think the single most important factor was people thought Garcetti
had eight high-profile years and he hadn't improved the criminal
justice system in Los Angeles," Mr. Chemerinsky said.

Efforts to reach Mr. Garcetti by telephone were unsuccessful.

Mr. Cooley said he challenged Mr. Garcetti after becoming
disenchanted with what he saw as the disintegration of the district
attorney's office.

"Rampart has been the issue in the campaign and is clearly going to
be a focus of what I do when I'm empowered to do it," Mr. Cooley said
in a telephone interview today as he began a three-day vacation.

Officers from Rampart have been accused of framing witnesses, working
with drug dealers, beating suspects and even murder.

Mr. Cooley, 53, has been critical of the prosecutors' agreement to
give immunity to Officer Rafael Perez in exchange for his testimony
against fellow officers. Since the deal, Mr. Perez has come under
increased scrutiny after accusations by a former lover that he
participated in the killing of a drug dealer.

Mr. Cooley called the agreement "the worst of the century" and said
he would examine it to see whether it could be voided if Mr. Perez
violated its terms.

Mr. Perez, who worked in an elite gang-prevention unit in Rampart,
one of the city's roughest neighborhoods, began cooperating with the
police after he was caught stealing about $1 million worth of cocaine
confiscated as evidence.

"I and others within the office will be reviewing it, its components,
to see whether he's actually fulfilled his end of the bargain," Mr.
Cooley said. "I want to take a real hard look at that."

Mr. Cooley, who had been head of the district attorney's San Fernando
Valley and Antelope Valley offices, said that his support for Mr.
Garcetti's opponent four years ago resulted in his being sent to the
much smaller welfare fraud division. But during his tenure there he
elevated the position by going after major welfare fraud.

In addition, to his criticism of Mr. Garcetti for the handling of the
Rampart case, Mr. Cooley was critical of Mr. Garcetti's strict
interpretation of the three-strikes law and has promised a more
flexible approach to sentencing people convicted of nonviolent,
nonserious third felonies.

"We are not going to be putting someone in prison for 25 to life for
stealing food," he said, an apparent reference to a case where a man
received the maximum sentence under three strikes for stealing a
piece of pizza.

Mr. Cooley said he would move immediately after taking office Dec. 4
to open cases to defense lawyers where police misconduct may have
resulted in people being wrongfully convicted. He has also promised
changes to prevent a recurrence.

More than 100 cases have been thrown out and 20 officers have left
active duty as a result of the continuing investigation. It is
estimated that legal settlements in those cases may exceed $100
million.

"We're going to put the tainted cases behind us in 60 days," he said.