EX-CHIEF TARGETS LAPD DRUG POLICY

Councilman Bernard Parks balks at the fact that six recent hires have
used drugs in the past. He says he will push for zero tolerance.

Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks said Monday that he will
ask the council to reinstate a zero-tolerance drug policy for the Los
Angeles Police Department after learning that six people have been
hired since 2003 who admitted to using felony-level drugs.

Parks, a former police chief, said the council approved the
zero-tolerance policy in 1996. But last year LAPD and city personnel
officials acknowledged they have been allowing some recruits into the
police academy who admitted past use of some "heavy" drugs, such as
cocaine, methamphetamines or heroin. At the council's Public Safety
Committee meeting Monday, officials said six such officers in all had
been hired.

"If we're going to change (the policy), it should be debated," Parks
said, criticizing a change that was made by the Civil Service
Commission in 2003 to look at candidates as a "whole person," without
an explanation to the City Council that the change would alter the
drug standards.

Margaret Whelan, the general manager of the personnel department,
which is involved in conducting background investigations, said the
standards were legally and appropriately changed.

"I don't want people getting all hysterical over this and thinking
we're bringing in all kinds of drug dealers, because we're not,"
Whelan said, adding that only six people with a hard drug history had
been among the 818 people hired since 2003.

"These (six) people are good people. They are really exceptional,"
she said. "They have stood up to our expectations, and there have
been no problems."

Among the six, all admitted to either having used cocaine or speed
one or two times, or they believed they had been exposed to it by
friends, Whelan said. Two of the officers were unsure whether they
had actually taken drugs, she said, and others had last used drugs at
the age of 15 -- more than 20 years ago.

They have since gone to college and had steady employment histories,
she said. Some were also in the military, Whelan added.

LAPD Cmdr. Kenneth Garner said that the department's standards are
still among the strictest in the country and are tougher than the
FBI's requirements.

Councilman Jack Weiss, chairman of the Public Safety Committee,
applauded the LAPD's high standards.

"The argument is that the LAPD standards need to be strengthened, yet
they're still tougher than the FBI standards ... and I've never heard
that the FBI standards aren't tough enough," Weiss said after the
committee meeting.

Parks disagreed.

"Sure, the LAPD still has high standards compared to other agencies,
but the dilemma is that other people's standards are dropping like a
rock," Parks said. "We need to set standards consistent with what the
city of L.A. believes is relevant."

Councilman Dennis Zine, a reserve LAPD officer, was also skeptical.

"One person can destroy the image of the Police Department," Zine
said at the committee meeting.

Whelan interjected that two of the officers tried cocaine once 23 years ago.

"That's a felony," Zine retorted. Applicants with felony convictions
are still immediately disqualified from becoming officers.

Parks said he plans to work with the City Attorney's Office to draft
a motion that would not only reinstate the zero-tolerance policy but
also require that the council be notified of any changes to the
requirements for LAPD recruits.