LAPD WATCH : Beyond Defense

Los Angeles Police Chief Willie L. Williams has fired Officer Douglas J. Iversen, who was found to have violated department policy in fatally shooting an unarmed tow truck driver in 1992. Williams’ wise decision came after the Board of Rights, made up of three police captains--veteran officers who are not in the business of railroading good cops--recommended that Iversen be fired. And how does the police union react? With the jerk of a knee: The union will fund an appeal because, says Police Protective League President Cliff Ruff, “previously, officers haven’t been terminated for out-of-policy shootings or (for) drawing of weapons.” Hmm. Somehow we don’t believe the typical hard-working, rule-book-respecting police officer wants the union defending the indefensible.

Central to the board’s recommendation that Iversen be terminated was his “accumulated pattern of past conduct,” which led to three suspensions without pay, primarily involving the theft and misuse of Police Department equipment. Then came the 1992 shooting, especially controversial because it occurred after the riots and the victim was black. When tow truck driver John L. Daniels refused to allow Iversen to check his license and tried to drive off, Iversen shot him to death. One of many witnesses to the shooting said Iversen’s stunned partner asked, “What did you do that for?” Iversen was charged and two mistrials followed.

The union says its job is to go to the mat for its membership, that it’s a matter of principle. How about this as a principle: Defend what’s defensible and denounce what is not?