LAPD Reform U Proposition F

Charter Amendment F, also known as Proposition F, was an important issue in the June 1992 primary elections. The proposition was concerned with reforming the Los Angeles Police Department. The city's need for police reform became an issue following the March 1991 beating of Rodney King. The issue became more heated in the wake of the 1992 riots. It was further inflamed by the numerous accusations among city officials and members of the public that Police Chief Daryl Gates was failing to do his job. The purpose of Proposition F was to revise the City Charter which had not been changed since the 1930's. According to that charter, the city's Chief of Police was free from the political control of the Mayor and City Council. He was given a lifetime term and was prevented from removal unless "found guilty of misconduct" (Sahagun & Simon B8). The idea behind allowing the Police Chief to be free from political control was that it would eliminate the temptations for corruption in that high office. However, many people came to believe that the charter enabled the Police Chief to have too much power on his own.

Proposition F was designed with the intention of overcoming this perceived problem. Its purpose was to increase civilian authority over the police department and to thus "hold the LAPD's top brass accountable to the public" (Woo B7). The provisions of the proposition included the limiting of the Police Chief's office to two fiveyear terms. The proposition also

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es Times also expressed support for the proposition. All of these supporters had a favorable impact on the outcome of the voting. The opponents of Proposition F included the Chief of Police Daryl Gates, who was against the amendment despite the fact that he was preparing for his own retirement at the time. A "No on Charter Amendment F" campaign was led by Geoffrey Garfield, and the Police Protective League (the union representing Los Angeles' police) also spoke out against the proposed amendment (Jefferson A6). Gates' attorney, Jay Grodin, led an opposition group known as Citizens for Integrity and Viability in the City Charter (CIVIC). This group acquired the support of many prominent people in the city, including restaurant owner Don Clinton and actress Peggy Rowe Estrada (Sahagun & Simon B8). Although the proposition was designed to increase city power over the police department, City Councilman Hal Bernson also spoke out against the proposed changes in the city charter. According to Bernson, passage of Proposition F would "destroy the integrity of the Police Department" by returning it to a state of "political patronage" (Mydans 19). Despite the opposition of all these authorities to Proposition F, the measure was p

Category: Government - L