L.A. Police Chief’s Try For Second Term Fails

Los Angeles Police Chief Willie L. Williams’ final bid for a second five-year term died Wednesday, as his supporters switched gears from trying to save his job to working out a deal to pay him off in return for his early departure.

Conceding that she lacked the votes to win, City Councilwoman Rita Walters quietly withdrew her motion to overturn the Police Commission’s decision to curtail the popular chief’s tenure, replacing it with one asking the city’s employment relations committee to ease the city’s transition to a new top cop.

“It just seemed like an exercise in futility. It doesn’t help the chief - it could be embarrassing to the chief to have the vote,” Walters said. “The votes simply weren’t there.”

Technically, a council member could reintroduce a motion to overturn Williams’ ouster Friday, but lawmakers said that is highly unlikely.

Williams’ future now lies in the hands of a five-member committee that will meet today to request a report from city staff outlining options for a transition, according to Council President John Ferraro, who chairs the panel to which the issue was referred.