POLICE SCANDAL LAWSUITS MAY COST L.A. $125 MILLION

(Los Angeles) -- Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks and
representatives of the city attorney's office told a closed session of
the City Council on Wednesday that Los Angeles will have to pay as
much as $125 million to settle lawsuits stemming from the police
department's corruption scandal.

Sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity said council members
reacted with sighs and gasps when Deputy City Attorney Tim McOsker
told them to brace for a barrage of costly lawsuits growing out of
more than 120 cases.

"It's like a new type of natural disaster," one source
said.

In recent weeks, much talk has occurred in law enforcement circles
about the costs and ramifications of the corruption scandal, which
includes allegations of illegal shootings, beatings, perjury, false
arrests and witness intimidation.

Wednesday marked the first time that council members have been given a
full briefing on the matter by Parks and officials from the city
attorney's office.

Parks shared with the council the details of his department's
investigation into the scandal at the Rampart Division.

While he declined to disclose the number of officers who have been
relieved of duty in the course of the investigation, Parks told the
council that rapid expansion of the police force -- a central goal of
Mayor Richard Riordan's administration -- may have contributed to the
problems at Rampart, sources said.

To meet hiring goals, young and inexperienced officers were hired in a
short period of time, which taxed the department's efforts to train
them and provide them with adequate supervision, Parks contended,
sources said.

Riordan, who won election in 1993, had promised to add 3,000 officers
to the LAPD in five years but fell short of that goal. Since the mayor
took office, the department's ranks have swelled from 7,400 officers
to 9,475.

Riordan declined on Wednesday to comment on the inferences to be drawn
from the chief's comments. He said that he "continues to expect the
LAPD's management to adequately oversee the training and deployment of
the department's officers."

In recent weeks, city officials have discussed among themselves the
possibility of asking the public to pass a bond measure to cover the
monetary liabilities the city is likely to incur as people falsely
imprisoned or arrested by officers file lawsuits against the city.

On Wednesday, city officials opted to save that discussion for a later
date.

During the closed session, some council members asked why the briefing
was held outside of public view.

As a rule, the council takes up matters of pending litigation in
closed session.