Detective Rips Into LAPD’s Leadership : Law enforcement: Outspoken Bill Pavelic accuses Chief Gates and others of obstruction of justice, cronyism and mismanagement. Charges are made at a ‘people’s grand jury’ held by activists.

A veteran Los Angeles police detective delivered a scathing and unusual public condemnation of Police Chief Daryl F. Gates on Saturday at an unofficial tribunal examining law enforcement abuses, accusing Gates and other top police officials of obstruction of justice, cronyism and mismanagement.

Detective Bill Pavelic, a 17-year veteran who works in the Southwest Division, likened police leadership to a dictatorship during a 45-minute dialogue at a conference dubbed the “People’s Grand Jury on Police Abuses” by activists critical of police abuses.

Under Gates, Pavelic charged, the department’s “management has become an organization where managerial corruption, lying and covering up criminal misconduct has become the norm.”

“Management’s respect for cronyism,” he added, “is proportional to their disrespect for the principles of professionalism, including integrity and fairness.”

The lambasting of Gates by one of his own detectives was received with cheers and a standing ovation by the partisan audience. Pavelic, known among his fellow police officers and among prosecutors for his aggressive, outspoken manner, said it was the first time he has raised criticisms in a public forum.

The comments represented a new development in a political battle over the future of the Los Angeles Police Department triggered by the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney G. King. Gates, who has been chief since 1978, has steadfastly defended his management of the department.

Introduced as a detective “who has bucked the system,” Pavelic said he “was simply exercising my constitutional rights” in speaking out and later predicted that he would be disciplined for his actions.

Pavelic accused Gates, former Assistant Chief William Rathburn--now chief of the Dallas police--and Southwest detectives commander Lt. Alan Kerstein of obstructing his investigation into an alleged “date rape” at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house at USC. The suspect maintained that the woman consented to intercourse.

The controversy concerned the relationship among Gates, Rathburn and prominent attorney John C. Argue Sr., a USC trustee whose son is a member of ATO. Police say Argue’s son was part of a group of fraternity brothers who walked through the room naked and carrying golf clubs while the alleged rape was taking place, an endeavor they nicknamed “just playing through.”

By Pavelic’s account, interference by Gates and Rathburn quashed efforts at prosecution. Pavelic said he was reassigned from the sexual assault detail after leveling allegations of obstruction within the department. Gates, Rathburn and other officials have denied any wrongdoing.

Pavelic portrayed the incident as the latest in a series of abuses, noting that he first made formal complaints accusing top brass of obstructing justice as far back as 1984. He also asserted that internal reports that reflect poorly on a detective unit’s performance are covered up to protect the department’s reputation.

Addressing a crowd that had already heard several hours of testimony and seen slides and videotapes depicting police violence, Pavelic emphasized to the crowd that “many, many thousands” of officers he has encountered in his career he considered “law-abiding, decent, honest, professional, hard-working, competent.”

“I want you to know I took my oath very seriously,” he said. “That oath didn’t mention Daryl Gates. It didn’t mention (Dist. Atty.) Ira Reiner. It didn’t mention (Mayor) Tom Bradley or anybody else.

“All it basically says is that we have to have reverence for the law,” Pavelic said.

The detective’s statements came near the close of a daylong session at Mt. Vernon Junior High School that attracted hundreds of spectators.

Some activists portrayed their “grand jury” as an alternative to the Christopher Commission, which was formed to conduct a detailed review of Police Department practices after the King beating. Carol Watson, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, said the purpose of the event was “to galvanize the community to do something about this problem.”

In a morning session, more than than 200 people heard human rights activist Ramsey Clark, a former U.S. attorney general, emphasize the importance of prosecuting police abuse cases.

Clark, who was a prominent critic of the Persian Gulf War, said in an interview that Gates is wrong in asserting that the King incident became a media sensation to fill a postwar news void.

“I frankly find it shameful that a chief of police would try to minimize this in human terms,” Clark said. “What he’s saying is . . . we wouldn’t have cared about Rodney King. Well, God help us if that’s true. God help anybody who sees that film and doesn’t get upset.”