Kroeker Woos Public in Bid for LAPD Chief Job

Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Mark Kroeker pushed his campaign-style bid for the soon-to-be-vacant chief’s job into full swing Wednesday, pledging during a luncheon speech to boost officer morale, implement long-stalled organizational reforms and restore the public’s trust in the LAPD if he is selected.

In his afternoon address at a downtown hotel to the Building Owners and Managers Assn., Kroeker said he believes that he is the best candidate for the position and, for the first time in public, laid out his vision to make the LAPD “the envy of law enforcement” agencies worldwide.

“I see our city as a safe city, free from crime and the fear of crime,” Kroeker said. “I see a city . . . where people exist and work in a magnificent partnership between the community and police.”

Kroeker and Deputy Chief Bernard Parks are seen as the two leading contenders to replace Chief Willie L. Williams, who failed to win a second five-year term and will step down Sunday. While both men are respected department insiders, their approaches in seeking the job have been strikingly different.

Parks, whom Mayor Richard Riordan is said to favor for the position, is waging a low-key, behind-the-scenes bid, while Kroeker, who is the overwhelming choice of the rank and file, is taking his case to the public.

As Kroeker spoke Wednesday, Parks was in New York attending a New York Police Department seminar on police accountability--a concept that the mayor has advocated for several years.

Kroeker said that if he were chief, such a trip would be unnecessary.

“I see [the] Los Angeles Police Department being the kind of department where the New York Police Department sends a delegation over here to find how we are doing it instead of the other way around,” Kroeker said. “We should be the leaders. This should be the place where they say, ‘How do they do that?’ ”

His vision for the department, he said, includes leadership that supports and empowers officers and supervisors in the field, equips them with high-tech gear, houses them in clean and new facilities, and solidifies the department’s fledgling community policing approach.

“I see an organization that has as its base hard-working street cops who have a toughness to them and on the other side a compassion and tenderness to them,” Kroeker said.

Kroeker’s public pursuit of the job has become a minor irritant to some political leaders, who have been besieged with numerous calls and letters from community activists and celebrities who support Kroeker.

But his style also has swayed many people to his side, including attendees of the luncheon, who gave Kroeker a standing ovation at the conclusion of his speech.

“He blew me away,” said Justin Dedeaux. “It was one of the greatest speeches I’ve seen in my life. He hit upon everything you want to hear from somebody who wants to be chief.”

Hours after Kroeker’s appearance, the Los Angeles Police Commission released the criteria for selecting the three finalists whose names will be sent to Riordan. The mayor’s choice for the job must be approved by at least eight City Council members.

The criteria, for the most part, are the same that were used by the commission to judge Williams’ job performance.

Among the qualities that the commission is looking for are the ability to lead the department’s officers; to articulate a vision for managing the department; control and prevent crime; reduce the fear of crime; communicate with the department and the public; handle personnel and employee matters; and manage budgets and department resources.

Commission President Raymond C. Fisher said candidates should, at the minimum, have five years in a senior executive position at a police department, experience with community-based policing, service in a department with at least 1,500 full-time employees in cities with populations of at least 250,000, and experience in administering a budget of at least $50 million. The candidates also should have a bachelor’s degree, but a master’s degree is preferred.

“We want to make sure they understand what is important to the Police Commission,” Fisher said.

The commission expects to forward the names of the three candidates to the mayor by July 29. The salary range for the job is $143,000 to $215,000.

In addition to Kroeker and Parks, Deputy Chief David Gascon, former New York City Police Department Commissioner William Bratton, and former LAPD Deputy Chiefs William Rathburn and Lawrence Fetters have been mentioned as candidates.

The new chief is expected to be selected by mid-August.