LOS ANGELES -- A judge today approved a $1.8 million settlement of the bitter 5-year legal battle between the American Civil Liberties Union and the Police Department over illegal spying.
The settlement, approved Tuesday by the City Council, averts trial of a series of lawsuits the ACLU brought on behalf of 142 political and religious groups and individuals who claimed they were victimized by the now-defunct police Public Intelligence Disorder Division.
The settlement approved by Superior Court Judge Lester Olson calls for the city to pay $900,000 to the plaintiffs and $900,000 to their attorneys.
In announcing its 9-5 vote approving the settlement, the Council Tuesday gave police a vote of confidence.
'The decision to settle the lawsuit in no way suggests a lack of confidence in the department or its officers,' the council said in a prepared statement. 'In fact, it is the council's opinion that the great majority of intelligence officers conducted themselves commendably.'
Most Council members favoring the settlement said they wanted to avoid paying as much as $3 million more in legal fees, and end the public dispute over police practices before the Summer Olympics.
'We cannot afford to divert the department from law enforcement or to hinder legitimate intelligence gathering when the eyes of the world are turned toward Los Angeles,' Council President Pat Russell said.
The city has spent about $1.25 million in legal fees preparing for trial, which was scheduled to begin early this year but was delayed to allow time for the last-minute settlement.
The Public Disorder Intelligence Division has been replaced by an Anti-Terrorist Division. Although details of the settlement have not been released, the agreement reportedly imposes new controls over undercover activities by the Council and civilian Police Commission.
Mayor Tom Bradley hailed the agreement as 'the end of a very difficult and sometimes painful road. Los Angeles now has the most stringent guidelines governing police intelligence-gathering of any city in the country.'
Police Chief Daryl Gates, who opposed the settlement, said he interprets the Council's vote as a decision to save the taxpayers money and give police its 'overwhelming support.'
But, he said, the out-of-court agreement might have been averted if City Attorney Ira Reiner 'had not shot off his big mouth and eliminated himself' from defending the department because of public statements he made about the case.'
