By Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 25, 2007

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier won praise from community leaders yesterday for her reorganization of the department, with some saying she is eliminating unnecessary layers of red tape. But others voiced concern over the racial makeup of her top-level staff.

Lanier said her plan makes the 3,900-member organization less top-heavy and more flexible. The chief stressed that her six assistant chiefs came up through the department's ranks, just as she did.

"You have the best leadership team here," Lanier said yesterday, standing outside police headquarters in front of a group of several dozen police officials. "You will see an impact."

The move is Lanier's biggest initiative since she took over the department in December, and she predicted that it will advance efforts to cut crime and improve public safety. She said that her moves, which take effect Sunday, will give top commanders more flexibility in deploying officers, enhancing street patrols and improving the department's ties to the public.

Some community leaders said Lanier had the right idea in streamlining the police bureaucracy. But they expressed concern about the effect of some of the personnel moves on diversity. Instead of eight assistant chiefs, she will have six. Four of the previous eight are black; two of the six under Lanier's plan are black.

Lanier, the first woman appointed permanent D.C. police chief, said she made her choices based on performance. Some community leaders said they were surprised by the demotions of three black assistant chiefs.

Willie Dandridge and Alton Bigelow were demoted to commander-level positions. Brian Jordan is no longer an assistant chief, but it is unclear what his role in the department will be.

"It doesn't look good to me," said community activist Sandra Seegars. "Her reassignments and demotions don't look good. She's moving too many African Americans from positions. I need to know why she's removing the ones that have been there for a while."

D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8), who oversaw police reorganizations when he was mayor, said he shared concerns about the racial makeup at the top.

"Performance and ability ought to be number one, but race ought to be a factor," Barry said. "Most of the difficulties in our community are in the African American community. There's a history of animosity between white officers and black citizens. We've gotten past a lot of that, but we have to be sensitive to that. I think she is."

The reorganization centralizes the direction of the city's 2,000 patrol officers under one assistant chief, Diane Groomes. Lanier's predecessor, Charles H. Ramsey, had patrols report to three assistant chiefs who oversaw regional operations command centers, or ROCs. Groomes, a 17-year member of the department, will have the authority to reassign officers quickly in response to crime. Currently, making those changes involves several layers of bureaucracy, Lanier said.

Barry and others said Lanier was wise to make the switch.

"From a command point of view, it eliminates a lot of the bureaucracy," Barry said.

Former council member Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3), who once headed the judiciary committee, agreed that it was time to consolidate.

"The ROCS created a layer of management that didn't seem necessary when compared with other departments," she said.

Patterson and council member Phil Mendelson, (D-At Large), the current head of the Public Safety and Judiciary Committee, said they believe that Lanier promoted talented, hardworking officials.

Those moving up to assistant chief include Patrick Burke, who built a following among residents in recent years as a patrol lieutenant heavily involved in community policing. Burke, most recently a commander in the special operations division, will head a new bureau for homeland security.

In addition to Groomes and Burke, the assistant chiefs are Joshua Ederheimer, Peter Newsham, Alfred Durham and Winston Robinson.

But the shake-up could lead to legal challenges. Civil rights lawyer Ted Williams said he is representing two high-level black police officials who have been demoted recently. Williams declined to identify them.

Ronald Hampton, executive director of the National Black Police Association, said he is calling for a meeting of an NAACP police task force to talk about the demotions of the three assistant chiefs.

"We're losing the delicate balance of black and white," said Hampton, a former D.C. police officer. "Not to have that balance is an issue if you want to gain the trust of the people."