LOS ANGELES -- A police sergeant indicted in the Rodney King beating has called for the resignation of Police Chief Daryl Gates, saying the chief has 'prostituted' the department's principles in his fight to hold onto his job.
Sgt. Stacey Koon, in a guest column published in Sunday's Los Angeles Times Opinion section, also compared the chief to a 'dying man.'
'He will grasp at any straw of hope in his quest for life. He believes he is justified to abuse reverence for the law, to abuse professional conduct, to abuse the public trust and to abuse his oath of office,' Koon wrote.
The sergeant, who was the supervising officer on the scene of the March 3 King beating and has been suspended without pay, did not address any of the issues directly related to King's beating but wrote the commentary to protest Gates' handling of the incident and, in particular, the chief's firing of a rookie officer who was also indicted.
Koon's letter marks the first public comment by any of the officers indicted in the beating, which was videotaped by a novice and has created a national furor and prompted callsfor Gates' removal.
Last month, Gates, who describes the King beating as an 'aberration, ' was placed on a forced 60-day leave by the city's civilian Police Commission. Days later, he was back on the job after winning a temporary reinstatement from the courts. A judge wrapped up arguments in the dispute over Gates' future last week and a decision on whether to permanently reinstate the chief is expected soon.
In his column, Koon, 40, said Gates has 'metamorphosed himself from an individual into the organization,' casting himself as indispensable.
'Gates' actions indicate that he has ... prostituted the foundations upon which (the department) has built its reputation. Therefore, it is time for Chief Gates to step down.'
'If (he) were to leave the scene today, contrary to his own belief, the LAPD would continue and survive,' Koon wrote. He added, 'Gates is not in a fight for the organization's survival, he is in a fight for his own survival.'
Koon, a 14-year department veteran, declined to be interviewed. A department spokesman said Gates would not have any immediate comment.
Koon's lawyer, Darryl Mounger, said his client was upset over the firing of rookie patrol officer Timothy Wind, who was still on probation when indicted in the beating.
'He's (Gates) willing to fire an officer such as Tim Wind, yet when he (Gates) is sent home for a few days without pay, he cries foul. Also, for the chief to say these officers tarnished the image of the department before he had a chance to see what they had done is upsetting,' Mounger said.
Gates fired Wind last week in response to the findings of an internal investigation into King's arrest and beating. Along with Koon, two other officers indicted in the beating, Laurence Powell and Theodore Briseno, have been relieved of duty without pay pending the outcome of an administrative hearing.
King was struck with batons more than 50 times by the officers. Koon, who offered no defense of his actions in his commentary, is accused of attempting to cover up the violence in his reports. The county grand jury last week decided not to indict any of the 17 other officers who witnessed the incident but did nothing to intervene.
