Gates Says He Might Not Retire Until 1993 : Police: Chief wants to wait until a vote is taken on recommended reforms. Council allies who announced his departure still expect him to leave this year.

Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates said Saturday that he may stay in office until 1993, despite an earlier announcement by two City Council allies that the chief had agreed to step down by the end of this year.

“I will retire. Sometime in ‘92, or in (early) ‘93,” Gates told The Times in a telephone interview. “I have always said that I’m not retiring until an orderly process is completed. . . . I’m not holding the city hostage. . . . This has nothing to do with pride.”

Gates, who has been under pressure to quit amid charges of police brutality and racism in the Los Angeles Police Department, said that he did not intend to leave his $168,793-a-year post before voters consider police reform measures recommended last week by the Christopher Commission or before a successor can be chosen.

“It makes no sense for the chief to leave until the people have decided,” Gates said. “Once that is done, I’ll set a date.”

The chief’s comments came one day after Councilmen John Ferraro and Joel Wachs announced that the chief had agreed to retire by the end of the year, after a special election on police reforms. City officials, from the council to the mayor’s office, expressed surprise and outrage over the apparent turnabout.

“He’s yo-yoing the city,” said Stanley Sheinbaum, president of the Board of Police Commissioners.

Gates also suggested that he will campaign against a proposed City Charter amendment that would limit the tenure of the police chief to a maximum of two five-year terms. “I expect to be heard on that,” Gates said. Limiting the chief’s tenure was a key recommendation by the Christopher Commission after its 100-day review of the department.

Gates, who has served 13 years as chief, said he would regard the defeat of such a measure as a personal victory. “A vote of confidence would be great,” he said. “It would be nice for me if (the voters) said, ‘We don’t trust those rascals, the politicians.’ And I think they will reject it.”

Still, Gates said he does not intend to make the ballot measure a referendum on his tenure and made it clear he will retire, regardless of the election’s outcome. “I will retire either way, I can’t hang around here forever,” he said, laughing.

The Christopher Commission, appointed after the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney G. King on March 3, last week recommended fundamental restructuring of the Los Angeles police force, including curbs on the power of the chief and changes in the training and discipline of officers. The commission’s 228-page report also recommended that Gates begin a transition of power to a new chief.

Gates indicated that he is prepared to participate in the transition process, but said it is impossible to predict the date of his departure. “How can I be specific until I know when the processes end? I’m waiting now for the City Council to make its decision (about a ballot measure). I don’t know when (the) election will be. I don’t know how long the selection process (for choosing a new chief) will take. Once that’s done, I’ll set a date for my retirement.

“The personnel search may begin in February, January--who knows? But I don’t want an interim chief.”

The chairman of the Christopher Commission, Warren Christopher, said the idea of Gates’ remaining as chief through early 1993 would be counter to the recommendations made by the commission. “We think the transition should begin now,” Christopher said.

The interview was Gates’ first detailed comment since Wachs and Ferraro announced that the chief had agreed in private talks to retire under certain conditions, including the scheduling of a special election in December.

Ferraro and Wachs said they were confident that Gates would step down by the end of the year or early next year, despite his comments to The Times on Saturday.

Other city officials said that if Gates stays in office until 1993, the transition of power to a new chief will be more difficult and the issue of police reform more divisive.

“He’s making it more difficult to proceed with the transition,” said Sheinbaum. “He talks about an orderly reform--he’s the disruptive factor in moving it along.

“He’s losing his cool,” Sheinbaum added. “He hasn’t set his course and he’s reacting on a day-to-day basis.”

Police Commissioner Sam Williams, who last week announced his plans to resign, said that “the rancor will continue” as long as Gates insists on remaining chief.

Ferraro said he was not concerned by Gates’ statement that he might stay until 1993. “I think he’ll go before that,” Ferraro said. “Daryl has a way with words. Daryl likes to play with you people. I still stand by what I said before” about Gates leaving by the end of the year or soon after, Ferraro said.

Wachs said that “the basic agreement is solid,” but he expressed surprise that Gates mentioned the possibility of staying on until 1993. “There’s no way the process (of putting Charter amendments on the ballot and selecting a chief) would take that long.”

Wachs said that Gates in their discussions had endorsed the idea of “speeding up the process” and holding a special selection this year rather than waiting until the June, 1992, election.

“I still presume it will take six to nine months to finish the process and then he would keep his word and retire,” said Wachs, who said that he has not spoken to Gates since Thursday.

For his part, Gates did not deny the announcement of a deal linking his retirement to a ballot measure on police reform.

But he said: “There are things that must be done. . . . I have said, ‘Lets go forward with an orderly process.’ And that requires a vote of the people. Before that the City Council has to debate, and set the election date, and that takes time.”

Still, some city officials said they felt deceived by Gates.

Deputy Mayor Mark Fabiani said: “Chief Gates has double-crossed two of his closest (council) allies. . . . One wonders how many friends he’ll have left at City Hall.”

Fabiani said that the mayor believes a transition period of a year or more is unacceptable. “This is a whole other order of transition,” said Fabiani. “And it is contrary to the Christopher Commission recommendation” that called for the transition to start immediately.

City Councilman Michael Woo, the first council member to call for Gates’ ouster, agreed. “I think it is totally unacceptable” for the chief to remain in office past the end of the year, he said. “I believe more firmly than ever that we need a new chief, even on an interim basis. Chief Gates has to go now.”

Melanie Lomax, who resigned from the commission on the same day as Williams, said:

“Someone is either lying or playing games, and once again it’s at the expense of the public.

“Either John Ferraro and Joel Wachs were not truthful in the first instance or the chief has had second thoughts,” she said, “and I’m inclined to think it’s the latter.”

Lomax said that “1993 is unacceptable” and she reiterated her demand that Gates resign.

Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky said: “I’m disappointed, but not surprised, that the city’s expectations have been unnecessarily raised. Neither the city nor Police Department can afford to be on this continuous emotional yo-yo.”

Gates said he will address his troops today, to reassure them that he is still in control of the department. “They think the politicians are winning,” he said.

Perhaps more disturbing than the chief’s uncertain departure is his suggestion that he would campaign against the ballot measure, officials said.

“That’s his privilege, but it doesn’t contribute to the spirit of cooperation,” said Fabiani. “It tells us he is not interested in implementing reforms. He’s saying he doesn’t have much regard for the Christopher Commission Report,” which was roundly praised by political, civic and business leaders.

“That’s exactly why we need a change,” said Woo. “Gates is trying to make it a referendum on himself. It will be a divisive campaign for the city.”

Woo said that to forge ahead with a special election now “would be a capitulation to Chief Gates’ strategy.”

The Christopher Commission Report said that Gates has the legal right to make political endorsements but questioned his endorsement of Hal Bernson in the recent City Council elections. Gates agreed in his commission testimony that he should not have made the endorsement.

The commission recommended a range of Charter amendments that would increase the power of the Police Commission, restructure the police disciplinary system and limit the chief’s tenure.

The City Council was divided last week over which measures would be placed on a special election ballot. Some council members preferred putting the entire package before the voters while others wanted to restrict it to amendments regarding the tenure and selection of a new police chief. The issue is scheduled for debate this week.

Meanwhile, the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People plans to launch an intensive voter registration campaign in anticipation of the special election, chapter President Joseph Duff said.

Gates said he is going to set his own date for retirement. “I’ve served the city 42 years, and I think I have a right to decide when I’m leaving and not be hounded out.”

The chief also said he does not understand why some people are pressing him to set a retirement date. “If they don’t stop the rhetoric,” he quipped, “I may just stay here until I die.”

Times staff writer David Freed contributed to this story.