Don’t Use Public Funds in Reward, Cosbys Urge

Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said Thursday that she will ask the board to rescind its $12,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Ennis Cosby’s killer at the request of his parents, who do not want taxpayer money being used in the effort.

“We should respect the family’s wishes and withdraw the reward,” said Burke, who added that she will propose the motion at an upcoming board meeting.

However, officials from the state of California and city of Los Angeles said their reward offers totaling $75,000 will not be withdrawn.

Entertainer Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille, issued a statement late Wednesday saying they appreciated “the intent of both government officials and the taxpayers” but “do not wish to utilize taxpayer money for the reward.”

Ennis Cosby was shot to death Jan. 16 while changing a tire on a darkened road near Bel-Air. His slaying captured the nation’s attention and prompted sizable reward offers totaling $387,000 from two tabloid newspapers, the Los Angeles City Council, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Lt. Gov. Gray Davis on behalf of the state.

Despite the Cosbys’ statement, police have asked the City Council not to withdraw its $25,000 reward.

LAPD Asst. Chief Frank Piersol said that the department “is sensitive to the Cosbys’ concerns,” but that it would be wrong to rescind the reward, which has already generated some investigative tips.

“To withdraw the reward at this point in time would take away some potential leads and would be a measure of bad faith,” he said. “We believe that the reward should remain intact because it could be a helpful tool in solving this crime.”

Piersol declined to discuss the rewards offered by the Board of Supervisors or the state, or how they should address the Cosbys’ concern, saying those governmental agencies are not within the department’s jurisdiction.

Councilman Mike Feuer, who proposed the city’s reward, said through a spokesman that he will not seek to withdraw the reward because of the request by the LAPD. A spokesman for Davis said the $50,000 state reward, which Davis offered in his capacity as acting governor, will not be withdrawn.

“This is a matter for law enforcement, not, in all due respect, the family,” said Garry South, a spokesman for the lieutenant governor. “This money does not go to the family. This is designed to help a public police agency solve a crime.”

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Following Cosby’s slaying, Los Angeles Police Chief Willie L. Williams encouraged government officials to contribute to a reward fund to entice people with information about the 27-year-old graduate student’s death to come forward.

A source close to the Cosbys said the comedian and his wife grew increasingly uncomfortable with taxpayer money being used and didn’t want the public to get the impression they were getting preferential treatment.

In high-profile cases, state and local governments occasionally put up reward money as a way of assisting homicide investigations. Some people, however, criticize such rewards because they say equal attention and effort should be given to all slayings, not just high-profile ones.

David Brokaw, a spokesman for the Cosbys, said the family did not feel the reward should be “a function of taxpayer money.

“Camille and Bill Cosby are most serious about this request,” he said. “They hope that all three [government bodies] withdraw the reward. This is all about dignity for them.”