Compromise Sought on Move to Demote Parks : City Hall: Chief Williams meets with council members in effort to curb opposition to LAPD shake-up. A deal would reportedly give No. 2 officer full pension if he agrees not to sue.

Police Chief Willie L. Williams--locked in the most volatile political dispute since he took over the Police Department and facing new evidence of unhappiness with his management--met Thursday with key City Council members to try to head off opposition to his reorganization of the LAPD’s top brass.

An aide to City Council President John Ferraro said Ferraro met with Williams and other city officials Thursday in an effort to reach a compromise that would prevent Bernard C. Parks, whom Williams demoted this week, from filing a lawsuit against the city.

According to sources familiar with the deal, it would allow Parks to retire with his salary and pension intact in February--when he will mark his 30th anniversary with the LAPD--while still clearing the way for Williams to reorganize.

In return for retiring at his highest rank and salary, Parks would have to agree not to sue the city, Mayor Richard Riordan or Williams, the sources said.

Ferraro and other council leaders were scrambling for a compromise because Williams’ abrupt reshuffling of the LAPD management has stirred an angry political reaction at City Hall. It also has sparked the first evident division between the council and the Police Commission, with commissioners saying the chief should have the latitude to manage his department while council members are reluctant to endorse Williams’ proposal.

“I’m surprised and disappointed by the City Council rumblings on this,” Police Commissioner Art Mattox said. “I would hope that the council would let Chief Williams manage the department and not interfere.”

Police Commission President Enrique Hernandez Jr. and commission member Gary Greenebaum emphasized the need for Williams to be given authority to make command decisions if he is to be held accountable for the state of the Police Department.

Still, council members who are loyal to Parks and others who are concerned about the structure of Williams’ proposed reorganization have seized upon the reshuffling to raise questions about Williams’ management of the department. After Williams’ meeting with Ferraro, Councilman Richard Alatorre met privately with the chief to discuss his concerns.

In addition, several officials said Williams recently received a report from the Police Commission in which panel members faulted some aspects of his management.

“It’s no secret that we have had some concerns about his slowness to move programs,” one police commissioner said. “Some of that is reflected in the report.”

That commissioner declined to elaborate, but others have said that the Police Commission and Riordan were concerned about Williams’ failure to move more quickly on a highly touted LAPD expansion plan and on implementing community-based policing.

Williams has portrayed his decision to demote Parks as a reflection of their differing styles, and privately has accused Parks of undermining him. Among other things, Williams is said to believe Parks misled council members about the chief’s position regarding a proposal to step up the hiring of female police officers.

Why Williams blames Parks is not clear, City Hall sources said. In fact, the sources said Williams’ lead liaison to the City Council on that issue was Deputy Chief Ronald Banks, whom Williams proposes to place in the new position of first assistant chief.

But the same sources said Banks had not tried to undermine Williams; instead, they said, Banks correctly informed council members that the chief would oppose a 43% hiring goal for female officers because Williams had expressed misgivings about the idea.