In an interview with KNX-AM (1070) radio this morning, Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton called out City Council members Bernard C. Parks, Greig Smith and Bill Rosendahl by name, saying their vote last night to freeze police hiring as a budget-cutting measure was "shortsighted and dangerous."Bratton said the vote, if confirmed by the full council, would set the LAPD back years in its hiring efforts, and he accused the three councilmen of misleading the public on the severity of the proposed cut -- particularly in Rosendahl's affluent Westside/coastal district.

"Within a couple of months I'll be pulling out of each of his police stations, because of the lack of hiring, about 25 to 30 officers," Bratton said. "So people on the Westside I'm sure are going to very happy to hear about the councilman's vote to reduce their already short-staffed stations."

-- David ZahniserPhotos: L.A. Times