Mayor Sets Chief to Task of Bolstering LAPD : Police: Riordan gives Williams 60-day deadline for finding ways to fulfill campaign pledge to add 3,000 officers in four years. Chief and Deputy Mayor Violante, recent adversaries, vow cooperation.

Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan, at his first news conference since taking office, announced Friday that he has given the city’s police chief 60 days to develop a plan for boosting the depleted ranks of the Police Department.

In a session long on rhetoric but short on specifics, Riordan’s point men on the effort took pains to reassure skeptics that they can put their differences behind them. Just a few days ago, Police Chief Willie L. Williams and police union President William C. Violante--now the deputy mayor for public safety--sat on opposite sides of a contract negotiating table. But on Friday they hugged awkwardly at the news conference and pledged to work together.

“It’s a pleasure to be part of this team,” said Violante, whose brief remarks were dominated by references to cooperation. “Under Mayor Riordan’s leadership, we have a team,” he said.

Asked about his reaction to Violante’s appointment, Williams conceded that the two men have had differences but said they would not be hampered by them. “They were professional disagreements; they were not personal disagreements,” Williams said. “It’s business. We’re all dedicated to support the Los Angeles Police Department.”

The news conference was billed as a session to discuss ways of placing more officers on the street immediately. But instead it focused on how city officials can help Riordan make good on a campaign promise to add 3,000 officers to the 7,900-officer department over the next four years.

Riordan ran on a pledge to make Los Angeles safer, and he reiterated that promise several times during the City Hall session, which took place even as workers were busily repainting the suite of mayor’s offices.

“If we’re to bring jobs back again, we have to make this city safe,” Riordan said. “If we’re to bring tourists back, we have to make the city safe. If we’re to bring conventions here, we have to make this city safe.”

Riordan would not spell out how he proposes to achieve that, however, saying that he preferred to let Williams first complete his plan for adding officers. Williams said he would work with Violante, City Councilman Marvin Braude and others to produce that plan in time to meet Riordan’s 60-day deadline.

Braude, who chairs the council’s Public Safety Committee, also attended the news conference and his remarks echoed those of the other officials. He praised Riordan for making the Police Department his top priority. “I pledge my support,” Braude said.

Although none of the officials offered specific suggestions for how the LAPD might add 3,000 officers in four years, Williams said a number of safety ideas would be considered. Among them are hiring new officers, redeploying existing ones, improving equipment and expanding overtime, the chief said.

“We will try to very ambitiously and very quickly develop a plan,” Williams said. “The plan has no parameters.”

But any proposal to beef up the LAPD will have to overcome obstacles, most of them involving money. Police officers have worked without a contract for more than a year, and their union, under Violante’s leadership, has asked for raises as part of its current contract talks with the city.

Riordan declined to say whether he would support making officers forgo raises again this year to hire more police. Violante also sidestepped the question, saying only that there would be tough choices.

Riordan has proposed raising money by leasing Los Angeles International Airport, but the prospects for that remain murky. The new mayor said Friday that while Williams is working out a nuts-and-bolts plan for expanding the department, he has asked one of his deputy mayors to study the airport proposal as a way of paying for the expansion.

Bill McCarley, the mayor’s chief of staff, said those two steps were part of a multi-pronged effort to make the city safer. Every city department will be reviewed as officials hunt for spare funds, and McCarley said the LAPD will be the major beneficiary of trims made to other programs.

“A budget is a statement of priorities,” he said. “Public safety is the priority.”

Even as the mayor and his public safety team began work, reaction continued to be mixed to Violante’s appointment, which took most political observers by surprise. In an interview on the KCET television program “Life and Times,” former Mayor Tom Bradley called the choice of Violante a big mistake.

Violante and the police union opposed passage of a police reform measure a year ago, and have since been openly critical of Chief Williams. Because of that, Bradley said, “I don’t think that he can establish the kind of warm relationships that I think are necessary.”

But Violante, who is well liked by many rank-and-file police officers, picked up support Friday from the African-American Peace Officer Assn.

“Mr. Violante’s presence in City Hall will ensure reformation of the LAPD, improve the citizens’ trust in LAPD and put more police officers on the streets,” the association said in a statement. “Promise is now on the horizon for Los Angeles.”