LOS ANGELES�Just one day after an ethnically diverse jury of five men and seven women convicted three Los Angeles Police Department officers of obstructing justice, fabricating charges against two gang members, and falsifying police reports, an alternate juror�s charge of jury misconduct could mean a retrial and reversed verdicts.

The alternate juror, Wendy L. Christiansen, charged Nov. 16 that several jurors demonstrated bias against police, and said she would have acquitted all defendants on all counts. Jurors denied the charges. Ms. Christiansen and the jury foreman were set to appear before a judge the week of Nov. 20 as part of an investigation of juror misconduct charges.

If the probe does not result in a retrial, Sgts. Edward Ortiz, 44, Brian Liddy, 39, and Michael Buchanan, 30, each face three to four years imprisonment. Their attorneys vowed to appeal the verdicts. The fourth officer tried, Paul Harper, 33, was acquitted of all charges. The case stemmed from misconduct uncovered during the investigation of the department�s Ramparts division.

Chief Bernard Parks, disappointed at the convicted officers� misconduct, apologized to Los Angelenos for the violation of the public�s trust and confidence. LAPD is committed to taking steps to prevent this type of behavior, he said.

"While it is always a sad chapter in the law enforcement profession to see police officers convicted of crimes, it is important that we as a department send a clear message to all that misconduct, under any circumstances, will not be tolerated," Chief Parks declared.

LAPD spokesperson Off. Jason Lee said the Ramparts investigation is continuing and the decision to charge more officers is up to the district attorney�s office. He also admitted more civil lawsuits, filed by civilians abused or framed by police officers, are possible.

"We could be sued. There are pretty good grounds for lawsuits, and if that happens, we have to deal with it," he said.

The verdicts ended a four week trial of testimony from police officers and gang members, but not from the Rampart investigation�s central figure, Rafael Perez. The former cop sparked an LAPD probe of the CRASH anti-gang unit after he plea bargained for a lesser sentence on charges of corruption and criminal activities.

Sonia Flores, Mr. Perez�s former girlfriend, escalated corruption charges by claiming that he and convicted bank robber David Mack, buried bodies in a Tijuana, Mexico trash dump. During jury deliberations, however, she said she lied about the bodies, seeking revenge because Mr. Perez had used her.

Meanwhile LAPD fought to stop outside investigations of its problems, but facing a federal lawsuit, the city council Nov. 2 approved a consent decree that has federal officials oversee police because of alleged civil rights violations.

"Overall, the consent decree will hold city officials directly accountable to the public and the court for their progress in making historic reforms," said Asst. Atty. General for Civil Rights Bill Lann Lee, a former Los Angeles civil rights attorney who pushed for the decree.

Passing with an 11-2 vote, the agreement says the city must: watch officers� activities through a tracking system; have a federal monitor report on the progress of implementation of the decree; develop a data collection system noting the ethnicity, age, and gender of stopped motorists and pedestrians, including reasons why they were stopped; expand roles of the Inspector General and Police Commission in use-of-force cases; create a new auditing unit in the police chief�s office to report on decree implementation; create a new detective team to review serious use-of-force cases and other serious incidents; and improve training of officers to deal with the mentally ill.

Councilman Nate Holden called the decree a mistake, saying the city is rushing to judgment and relinquishing local control of its police department. The decree was to be presented to federal courts for approval at Final Call press time.