News Scrapbook 1986-1988

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.} San Diego Union (Cir. D. 217,089} (Cir. S. 341,840) ~PR

987

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Wednesday, April 1, 1987 SD piakes first attempt at prestigious crew titles By Mark Zeigle?.-a?r Wrllcr champ Cal - all of which are in the Toreros' heat - but just being in the water with them.

weekend. About 2,300 athletes (the previous high was 2,000 in 1984) from 70 clubs and universities are scheduled to compete in 65 races - 20 on Friday and 45 on Saturday. Officials expect the regatta to grow even more next year, since coaches and rowers will be prepping for the '88 Olympics. All races are on a 2,000-meter (1 ¼ miles) course in Mission Bay, starting near Sea World, passing east of Vacation Isle and finishing at Crown Point Shores. Races are from noon to 5 p.m. on Friday and 6:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Most of the final races are Saturday, in- cluding the Copley, Whittier and both Cal cups. The Crew Classic's first race will feature the USO men against Columbia, San Diego State and Washington State. The Toreros also hope to be in the regatta's last race - the Copley Cup final. /

races' 13-year history. The Toreros are just happy to line up their eight-oar shells with the best of 'em. "It's probably the only time in quite awhile that we'll get to compete against crews of this caliber," said Joe Flohr, who oversees the USO crew program and coaches the men's team. "I think USD crew is getting a little more well-known - and winning last year's Cal Cup certainly helped." Flohr admitted that to win the Copley Cup, the Toreros probably would have to attach a motor to their shell. Only three members of the Cal Cup championship crew are back - stroke oar Neal Stehly, Mike Weber and Jaime Bea. "If we beat anybody out there," he said, "we'll be pleased." But as far as Flohr is concerned, the thrill for USD is not beating the likes of defending NCAA champion Wis- consin, three-time Copley winner Harvard or 1982

1h Univer ity of San Dje~o men's and women's crew tc 1m. never have won the prestigiou Copley and Whit- tier cups t the annual Lowenbrau Crew Classic, which begin Friday and concludes Saturday on Mission Bay Th r a on rudimentary· You can't win a race you're not in But the USO men and women will make their re pee- live debuts in th regatta's featured races this year. The Torero won the men' and women's Cal Cups last year, the prize for which - beside getting your name en- grav d on fancy trophy - is an automatic berth into th Copley and Whittier cups the following year • on Saturday, USO will splash around with collegi- ate crew' heavies. Never mmd that a San Diego let alone Southern Cabforma - hool ha never won either event in the

"The biggest impact from winning the Cal Cup last year is not so much being in the Copley Cup, but all the attention we've received," said Flohr. "It's so nice for the guys, because they work so doggone hard. They de- serve it. And they're eating it up." The Torero women hold a slightly better chance of advancing to the Whittier Cup final, since the field is smaller (nine entrants compared to 12) and relatively weaker than the men's. "ll we do, it will be considered a win for us," said women's coach John Ciani. "If we don't, it won't be considered a loss. We'll consider it a lot of experience gained." The Crew Classic, the first major regatta of the sea- son, is expected to experience its biggest event yet this

san Diego, CA (San Diego co.) San Diego Union (Cir. O. 217,089) (Cir. S. 341 ,840)

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) San Diego Union (Cir. 0. 217,089) (Cir. S. 341 ,840)

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APR 2 1987

ice: Civilian role Pdrted by panel

/ Panel em races citizen re iew of pol· ce co plaints By Dick Weber, Staff Writer A panel appomted by the City Counc1 to study police relations with the community formally embraced yesterda the concept of citizen involvement m viewing complaints against police o leers. By a 10-2 vote, the Citizens Advisory B rd on Police-Community Relations ~entially 11ccepted a subcommittee's r ommendation last week that civil- ian should be allow d to participate at some level in the process An executive committee of five boar members was delegated to develop everal pec1fic proposals for the full ard to consider at its meetmg on April 21.

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. /Ehrlichman says RiiUan co,.,..,...,..,,back may be too ate By Nalt Baranger Staff Writer

role in the review process. From her knowledge of review systems in Berkeley and Oakla?d, she said, initial fears by pollce proved to be unfounded. "What it has done is bring the community and the police departments together," she said. John Slotten, of the Ad Hoc Com- mittee For An Independent Review Board, said his group wants qualified citizens to be able to either investi- gate or critique complaints and have some say in their disposition. Slotten, whose group has been gathering in- formation on review boards in other cities for the last year and a half, was invited to share with the board in the next few weeks what he has learned. Superior Court Judge Laura Hammes, who conducted a study of civilian review boards in 1983 while at the University of San Die o's Cen- ter for Criminal Justice Policy and Management, said yesterday that such panels have encountered prob- lems in every city where they have been tried. Because such boards lacked expe- rienced investigators with police backgrounds, Hammes said, the in- vestigations often were inadequate. Also, she said, many review boards eventually came to be viewed as "rubber stamps" for police depart- ments because they tended to be more lenient than police administra- tions.

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Burgreen added he will be particu- larly interested in the city attorney's view of the legality of the board's final recommendation. "1 think that's a critical issue," he said. "You just can't simply walk in and set up a police review board under our city charter and the gov- ernment code of California." Either the city charter or state Jaw must be changed to allow for a review board, he said, or the advi- sory board must come up with a dif- ferent idea. Burgreen said the board "is doing its best" to correct the perception of many citizens that the department's internal investigations are occasion- ally whitewashed. "However, 1 have studied citizen review boards (elsewhere) to some degree," Burgreen said. "They end up costing a lot of money and doing very little. Hopefully, what this com- mittee comes up with will improve on what others have failed to do." Much of the meeting was devoted to bearing the views of community leaders and others in attendance. No action was taken on the police ad- ministration's proposal to invite the county grand jury to periodically conduct random reviews of complet- ed complaint investigations as a way to ensure public confidence that the department's process is thorough and fair.

The two no votes were ca t by Vince Krolikowski, who represents the San Diego Police Officers Associ- ation, and Donald Hartley, an insur- ancll. ecuhve. Krolikowski called the motion too vague. He also said he was disap- pointed the board didn't spend more time yesterday on suggestions to en- courage the citizenry to use the Po- bee Depar meat's existing complaint procedure. 'fbe POA remains adamantly op- po ed to citizens participating in the investigation and disciplining of po- lice officers, Krolikowski said. Hartley said he needed more Infor- mation on which to base a decision. "I ;iant to know more about civilian review boards." he said. "Do they do any good, or any harm? This is a ensitive is ·ue." Other panel members expressed similar reservations during a two- hour mornmg session in a conference room at the Fir t National Bank building downtown. Afterward, assi tant police chief Bob Burgreen said the police admin- 1stration 's posture at this point is to wait n

The appointment of Howard Baker as White House chief of staff in the wake of the Iran-Contra arms affair may not be enough to save Ronald Reagan's presidency, a convicted Watergate conspirator said last night. . Speaking a• USO, John Ehrllch- man said Baker was a "wonderful" addition to the White House staff but Mr. Reagan may have gone too long . 1 C1 ;., .... e under his desk for 90 days," Ehrlichrnan said. "By lying low for 90 days, he let it get away from him. It may be too late." Staff and students in the half-filled University Center Forum heard Ehrlichman speak on a wide range of topics, from Watergate to Mr. Reagan's foreign policies. Ehrlich- man was counsel and special assist- ant to President Richard M. Nixon until !lfay 1973, specializing in do- mestic affairs. He later served 18 months in federal prison for his roles in the Watergate coverup and related cases. Ehrlichman said his dealings with Mr. Reagan, then governor of Cali- fornia, convinced him that the future president was too "detached" from major issues. He described how Mr. Reagan would hand important issues to subordinates. "Ronald Reagan was essentially disengaged from the facts," said Ehrichman, who dealt with gover- ors daily in Nixon's administration. "He had virtually no Washington ex- perience, except perhaps his phone calls to me. "I used to get phone calls from Ronald Reagan, and almost invari- ably they would start out as 'John, we're having a lot of trouble out here with ... whatever issue and, well, I want you to talk to (executive assist-

John Ehlichman

ant and cief of staff) Ed Meese about this.' "He'd hald the phone to Meese and that's the 1st I ever heard of Ronald Reagan abut it." Reagan's dependence on active military oftcers also proved to be a flawed poliy, Ehrichman said, be- cause someofficers have split their loyalty bebeen the President and their commnding officer, who often controls pronotions. But Ehrlchman, who received a $5,000 fee f,r his two-dayJ..)SD eQ; gagement, tild the 250 in attendance lastmght thlt such a policy may not have workel during the Watergate scandal. Eh \ichman said he should have confrmted Nixon with the choice of vountary public disclosure or having th• facts made public any- way. "It might iave been the salvation of Richard Nxon." Ehrlichmai is scheduled to show home movie: from his White House years today 1t 8 a.m. at USD's Uni- versity Centtr faculty dining room. Tickets are $\.50 for the public, $3.50 for students. ./

Roberto Martinez, representing the Coalition of Law and Justice, said a civilian review board was "crucial to restoring confidence in the po- lice." "Shifting responsibility to the grand jury or similar agency would not effect any change " Martinez said. Irma Castro, executive director of the Chicano Federation, said, "Citi- zen participation appears to be viewed as something (the Police De- partment) has to tolerate versus something that is important and ben- eficial." Castro said that as a member of the California Commission on Crime Control and Violence Prevention, she has studied the citizen complaint issue, and what appears to work best · many cities is some kind of citizen

However, Hammes said, she con- cluded that people in San Diego would be clamoring for a review board in a few years. She said she suggested then that the Police De- partment ask for grand jury reviews, but the response from police officials was, "It won't happen here because we're doing our job." The Citizens Advisory Board on Police-Community Relations was es- tablished in 1985 following the Sagon Penn shooting incident in Encanto in which one police officer was killed and another officer and a civilian ob- server were wounded. Some witness- es have said a fight started during a traffic stop when one of the two white officers used racial slurs and manhandled Penn, who 'la black. / / I

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