The Proposed Charter Changes

The Christopher Commission proposed numerous changes in the L.A. City Charter in a stated effort to invigorate civilian oversight of the Police Department. There are two ways charter changes can be made. The usual path is for the City Council to approve placing them on the ballot in a special or general election. The other path, which may be used if the City Council does not approve the charter changes, is to gather enough voter signatures to place the amendments on the ballot as initiatives.

THE POLICE COMMISSION

The Christopher Commission recommended several charter changes aimed at increasing the clout of the civilian Police Commission, whose five, part-time members oversee LAPD. The proposed changes would:

* Exempt the Police Commission from Charter Amendment 5 that voters passed last month. Charter Amendment 5 gave the City Council power to reverse decisions by any city commission.

* Increase the $50 fee police commissioners receive for each meeting they attend to $1,500 per month.

* Give the Police Commission standing to sue to fulfill its oversight responsibilities, if any other governmental body tries to interfere with it.

THE POLICE CHIEF

The Christopher Commission also proposed amendments that would lessen the power of the police chief, who now may only be removed from office for wrongdoing and who has the right to an administrative hearing on any discipline. The proposed changes would:

* Allow the mayor to appoint the chief with the consent of the council from a list of three candidates recommended by the Police Commission, which currently appoints the chief. If the mayor were displeased with the list, he could ask the Police Commission for one more list of three candidates.

* Increase the likelihood of an outsider being appointed chief by eliminating a scoring advantage on the chief’s exam given to candidates within the LAPD.

* Strip the chief of his civil service protections and the “property right” to his job that now is guaranteed to him by the charter.

* Limit the chief to a five-year-term, renewable once by the Police Commission.

* Make it easier to remove the chief by permitting the Police Commission to fire him for any reason with the consent of the mayor. The chief could appeal to the council, which could reinstate him with a two-thirds vote.

OFFICER DISCIPLINE

The Christopher panel also proposed changes that would increase the power of police administrators to discipline rank and file officers, whose rights to fair hearings in disciplinary matters are detailed in the charter. The changes would:

* Eliminate a requirement that administrators must discipline an officer within a year of alleged wrongdoing. Sometimes it takes longer than a year for complaints to be made.

* Allow administrators to use evidence from unsubstantiated past complaints against an officer in an attempt to prove current misconduct charges.

* Give administrators a new power to punish by demoting offenders, rather than admonishing, suspending or firing them.

* Change the composition of administrative hearing panels called Boards of Rights from three senior officers to two officers and a civilian Police Commission supervisor.

* Take away from accused officers any say in selecting the senior officers who sit on these boards. Senior officers would be randomly selected.

* Give the Police Commision authority to reverse any decision by the police chief to reduce a penalty recomended by a Board of Rights.

* Instruct the city Board of Pension Commisioners to view an officer’s serious misconduct as “a negativefactor” in determining whether an officer is eligible for a stress pension, which could cost taxpayers close to a million dollars over his lifetime.

OTHER

In addition, the Christopher Commission asked that the City Council appropriate money to hire a civilian staff of 15 to 20 for the Police Commission, including a civilian general manager of equal rank to the police chief. A civilian inspector general would review the Police Department’s investigations of citizen complaints against police officers to make sure they were completely and fairly done.