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Los Angeles News - Long Knives Slice Up Bratton - page 1

Long Knives Slice Up Bratton
As it overspends by $1 million daily, the City Council goes after the departing chief
By Patrick Range McDonald
Published on October 14, 2009 at 6:36pm
It’s a mark of the disarray and crisis within Los Angeles City Hall that Police Chief William Bratton, one of the most famous cops in the world, riding high on an era of low crime and sometimes absurdly over-praised accomplishments, is leaving town on October 31 on an exceedingly sour note, publicly attacking members of the City Council as they attack him back.

Taking advantage of the power vacuum inside LAPD caused by Bratton’s imminent departure for New York, City Council members including Paul Koretz, Bernard Parks and Greig Smith are eyeing the LAPD budget and considering a major raid on it as they pass their 100th day mired in a budget deficit they failed all summer to resolve.