Bratton doesn't rule out NYPD

In an interview with the New York Daily News, LAPD chief William Bratton said he would not run for elective office, but left open the possibility that he would return to the top job at the NYPD if asked. "Oh sure. I'm only 61. That's a possibility down the line," Bratton said. "Those that know me know I never close any doors. Well with some exceptions: I've closed the door on politics to show my sanity. I'm not crazy...And I'm not about to go seek the U.S. Senate office. That has to be one of the worst jobs in the world."

Also: The L.A. Times' Tim Rutten columnizes today that the timing and manner of Bratton's departure just as the LAPD faces budget troubles is perplexing and "almost breathtakingly irresponsible."

It also raises troubling questions about his relationship with Michael Cherkasky, the court-appointed monitor who evaluated the LAPD's compliance with the federal consent decree, and about Cherkasky's role in convincing the federal judge to terminate oversight of the department....

Bratton's decision may also have been influenced by City Councilman Greig Smith, who, since his ascension to the chairmanship of the council's Public Safety Committee, has demonstrated a pointlessly intrusive, almost absurd propensity to assert micromanagerial authority over the LAPD, involving himself in deployment and other issues that clearly exceed the lawmakers' competence. Bratton's impatience with this development has been obvious to associates, but handing off the problem of dealing with an overreaching council committee to a new chief won't help the LAPD one bit.

John Buntin, author of the forthcoming "L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City," a history of LAPD legend William Parker, at Governing magazine: "Bratton’s greatest accomplishment has not yet been widely recognized. Arguably, his greatest legacy has been to change the culture of the LAPD."