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ACLU Denounces Firing of Police Commission President Gerald Chaleff

Monday, February 5, 2001

The firing of Police Commission President Gerald Chaleff by Mayor Riordan is an effort to shift the blame for the lack of police reform in Los Angeles. The Mayor himself is responsible for blocking progress on police reform and is now trying to make Commissioner Chaleff the fall guy.

This is particularly reprehensible and ironic, because Commissioner Chaleff is a leading proponent of reform. In his tenure as Police Commissioner and President of the Commission, he has been unafraid to take a hard, clear look at the bad news of a police department that is corrupt and abusive, and he has been a reliable messenger for the need for reform, despite opposition from the Mayor's office and from the police department's leadership.

This leader in advocating for reform will now be cut out of the reform process, will not have a role in selecting the consent decree monitor, and will be unable to bring his commitment to real change to the ongoing project of seeing that the consent decree is enforced.

The Mayor made a grave mistake today.

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