Outgoing Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton chats with City Councilwoman Jan Perry during farewell ceremonies at City Hall Wednesday. (Photo by Gary McCarthy)
Story Created:
Oct 28, 2009 at 6:48 PM PST
Story Updated:
Oct 29, 2009 at 12:42 AM PST
Former police chief-to-be William Bratton became emotional twice during his final address to Angelenos Saturday at the grand opening of the shiny new Police Administration Building: First, when he talked about the 202 deceased LAPD officers whose names are enshrined in the new building’s Memorial Wall, and again when he summed up his seven years spent as Los Angeles’ police chief with the words: “It was worth it.”
In a final private meeting with him Monday, I asked the chief to specify and explain what it was about his experience in Los Angeles that made him say his stay here “was worth it.” This is what he said:
“I’ve been in policing for almost 40 years. I love the profession and I love what it is capable of doing. Here in Los Angeles, I think we’ve had to show that capacity, in that we’ve had to reduce crime significantly. Los Angeles has its specialized form of crime — gang crime — which is the hardest type to reduce, but we reduced it.
“We’ve been able to develop one of the country’s best counter terrorism programs. We’ve been able to implement the federal consent decree, the largest one ever created, and we did it in a way that developed some of the best policing practices in the country at the same time.”
Bratton continued: “We were able to convince the public to support the growth of the department by almost 1,000 new officers and, along the way, we were also able to improve race relations with the African-American and Latino communities. That’s very important to me because I really do believe that my profession has been the flashpoint for so much of the racial tension and violence in this country — going back to its creation — when we were the slave catchers and the years of labor disputes when we were often on the side of management. But I really do believe the new police profession that began to emerge in the 1980s and 1990s and now into the 21st century is on the edge of improving race relations by cutting crime through smart policing.”
Bratton talked about the various national and local opinion polls and surveys that show Angelenos have gained much greater faith in and satisfaction with the LAPD over the past seven years. He particularly noted a recent poll that showed 83 percent of L.A. residents are now optimistic about their future.
“That’s what I feel good about after spending seven years here, because the thing I’m passionate about is that police can be a force for improving race relations,” Bratton continued. “We did it in New York and that was pretty much the way we did it here.”
The chief, whose last day on the job is Friday, said Angelenos are optimistic because their neighborhoods have improved and are thriving. “When crime is down, people are willing to invest in neighborhoods,” Bratton said. “Business picks up, jobs are created, neighborhoods improve and it all begins with public safety. And it was worth it to make all that happen in Los Angeles. I’m sorry, Betty, that I gave you such a long-winded answer to a simple question.”
No problem. Goodbye and godspeed, chief.
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