According to the L.A. Times, L.A.'s civilian Police Commission today rejected former police chief and current City Councilman Bernard Parks' request to legacy-transfer the William Parker brand from the LAPD's old headquarters to the new one. Admittedly, the idea had sounded a little nutty. In a city of “minorities,” naming the new center for a bigot seemed like a no-go from the start. LAist reports that City Councilman Richard Alarcon has proposed naming the HQ after former Mayor Tom Bradley. This makes sense — almost too much sense. Bradley, like Parks, was an African American and was also a cop under the Parker regime before becoming a city councilman.

So, in a way, Bradley could posthumously resume his role as the great compromiser, the consensus builder in a city paralyzed by special interests, political allergies and hurt feelings. But don't we have enough Bradley stuff in town already? There's the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX, the Tom Bradley Room in City Hall, Tom Bradley Youth & Family

Center, UCLA's Tom Bradley International Hall (with its Tom Bradley Gallery). Well, maybe not. Perhaps the Tom Bradley Center might not be so bad after all — it has a better ring to it than the Daryl Gates Center.

Recently, blogger/community activist Jasmyne Cannick

proposed naming the center for African American Deputy Chief Kenneth O.

Garner, who passed away last March. L.A. Daily also got into the act

this week by proposing to keep the Parker name but selecting from a

range of alternative first names from illustrious Parkers. Hey, why don't we just name it the Bernard Parks Center — that would at least keep some of the people happy some of the time.

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