Police Union Wants Independent Probe

Disgusted by corruption within its ranks, the police union
representing 9,500 LAPD officers on Monday unexpectedly called for an
independent citizens review of the widening Rampart scandal.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League's decision to back civilian
oversight of the investigation marked a "historic departure from its
past bulwark defense of all things LAPD," the union said in a statement.

"This represents a great leap forward for the police union, and it's
also the first step in reinforcing to the public that restoring the
credibility of the Police Department is our single biggest priority,"
said union President Ted Hunt.

"It is also important for the public to know that the police union is
solidly in favor of a thorough, fair and comprehensive
investigation."

In its 75-year history, the union has never before called for an
outside review of the Los Angeles Police Department.

By doing so, the union finds itself at odds with Police Chief Bernard
C. Parks, who opposes such a review, and in an unusual partnership
with the ACLU and other civil rights leaders, who have long criticized
the LAPD.

LAPD spokesman Cmdr. David Kalish said the department believes police
oversight is properly the responsibility of the five-member Police
Commission.

"They're an independent body that provides civilian oversight," Kalish
said. "We have confidence in the Board of Police Commissioners to
fulfill that critical role."

More than a dozen LAPD officers have been fired or relieved of duty in
connection with the corruption detailed thus far by
corrupt-cop-turned-snitch Rafael Perez in sworn statements to
investigators.

Hunt said it is "imperative that an official, arm's-length and
objective viewpoint weigh in on the report in order to assure public
confidence in its findings."

At the urging of the police union, USC law professor Erwin Chemerinsky
said Monday that he has agreed to conduct an independent review of the
LAPD report on the scandal, which is due to be released March 1.

Parks convened a special Board of Inquiry to investigate the
corruption centered in the Rampart Division's Community Resources
Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit.

"This is unprecedented in this city," Chemerinsky said. "The
protective league for the first time really wants to be a force for
progressive change and reform in the Police Department."

Chemerinsky, who served as the chairman of Los Angeles' elected
Charter Reform Commission, stressed that his review will be
independent, not prepared on behalf of the union. Chemerinsky said he
will oversee a research and administrative staff and expects the
review to take 30 to 90 days to complete.

Hunt said Chemerinsky's work is "not meant to supercede the work of
the civilian Board of Police Commissioners."

"Any report that portends to be thorough must include findings and
recommendations regarding the Police Commission and its role in
rooting out corruption, hiring policies and management oversight,"
Hunt said.

"This they cannot do objectively without active public participation
in the process."

The corruption probe ignited in September when Perez agreed to
incriminate himself and other cops in exchange for a lenient prison
sentence for stealing eight pounds of cocaine from an LAPD evidence
room. He is scheduled to be sentenced Friday.

Parks maintains that his investigators have given the District
Attorney's Office enough evidence to prosecute three dirty cops
connected to the scandal.

As the Daily News reported Monday, District Attorney Gil Garcetti has
not filed criminal charges against individual officers, choosing
instead to try to build stronger cases against them and pursue broader
conspiracy charges against all the dirty cops involved.