State Bar Probes Lomax's Release of Legal Memos : Police Commission: She says she believes Gates' lawyer filed a complaint against her, but he denies it. She steps down as the panel's acting president.

By SHERYL STOLBERG

July 31, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Attorney Melanie Lomax, who stepped down Tuesday as acting president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, is being investigated by the State Bar of California for her controversial decision to release confidential city legal memos to a civil rights group seeking the ouster of Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.

At the commission meeting, Lomax publicly disclosed the investigation by the State Bar, the agency that licenses and regulates lawyers. She also said she believed a complaint had been filed against her by Jay Grodin, a lawyer for Gates--an allegation the chief’s attorney promptly denied.

“I did nothing of the sort,” Grodin said.

Lomax also confirmed that--in light of the State Bar investigation--she briefly gave thought to asking the Police Commission to consider retroactively approving the release of the documents. An item on the printed agenda for Tuesday’s meeting called for “consideration, discussion and ratification” of the release, but Lomax asked that the item be withdrawn.

“In hindsight, I decided it would not be appropriate,” she said in an earlier interview, noting that three of the commission’s five members were not in office when the documents were released in April. She added, “I think that it is very important for this new commission to be untarnished by the past.”

News of the bar investigation comes just as Lomax is leaving the police board, the five-member citizens panel that oversees the Los Angeles Police Department. Lomax and Commissioner Sam Williams have resigned at the suggestion of the blue-ribbon Christopher Commission, which found they had damaged their credibility by participating in an unsuccessful attempt to place Gates on involuntary leave in April.

Tuesday’s meeting was their last. Two new appointees, former Assistant Police Chief Jesse A. Brewer and Fire Commissioner Ann Reiss Lane, are expected to be confirmed by the City Council later this week and will join the board next week.

The meeting on Tuesday was peppered with emotional goodbys. Lomax appeared to fight back tears as she offered praise to Williams, who has served on the panel for 18 years.

Even Gates was sentimental; he lauded Williams for his “tremendous contributions” and said to Lomax: “I’m going to miss you, Melanie. You brighten up these meetings considerably, and you have been an inspirational adversary.”

Throughout her eight-month tenure, Lomax has been the commissioner’s most controversial member. In an interview, Lomax said she believes her foes are trying to use her as a “political scapegoat” by filing a complaint with the State Bar.

“Someone is attempting, I believe, to exact some retribution against me because of my position in the Gates matter,” she said.

Lomax said she has known of the bar investigation for about a month. The bar has the power to investigate allegations of impropriety involving lawyers, and can impose penalties ranging from private reprimands to disbarment.

At issue is Lomax’s decision to give the Southern Christian Leadership Conference copies of confidential legal opinions provided to the police board by the city attorney. The opinions were written just before the panel’s April 4 decision to place Gates on leave. They outlined disciplinary measures the police board could take against the chief.

While Lomax’s adversaries--including lawyers for Gates and some City Council members--have described the release as “a leak,” she maintains that she had the right to make the documents public.

On Tuesday, Commissioner Williams agreed with her. “I didn’t object to the release at the time and I don’t now,” he said.

Meanwhile, other commissioners interviewed praised her decision to take the item off Tuesday’s agenda.

“I had reservations about her doing it,” said Commissioner Stanley K. Sheinbaum. “It’s an issue that has caused friction between the commission and the (City) Council. . . . I didn’t see where it would help her with her problem (with the bar) to ask people who were not involved at the time to take a position on it.”

Said Commissioner Anthony de los Reyes: “I’m not sure whether we should be reopening old wounds at this point.”

In other commission business Tuesday, the panel extended for an additional two weeks a ban on organizational changes within the Police Department, and also expanded the moratorium to prohibit the chief from making any personnel changes at the top levels of the LAPD.

The ban was put in place two weeks ago after Gates transferred a top aide who had been critical of him in testimony to the Christopher Commission. It requires the chief to consult with the president of the police board before making any changes in the department’s organization, or transferring any officers higher than the rank of captain.

The Police Commission also gave the chief a 23-page report that is intended to serve as a guide for implementing the sweeping recommendations of the Christopher panel. Commissioners asked Gates to review the document and report back to them in a week.

The report, among other things, recommends changing the LAPD manual to “reflect in strong terms” that racism and sexism will not be tolerated; clarifying policies with regard to the use of dogs; establishing procedures for counseling officers found guilty of offenses involving discrimination; creating cultural awareness programs for officers, and creating a task force to implement the concept of community-based policing.

In addition, Lomax suggested in a cover letter attached to the report that the LAPD review the personnel files of 183 officers who were identified by the Christopher Commission as having been the subject of four or more complaints of excessive force.