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 California Police Abuse and Police Brutality 
 
 Page 2


 12/27/2005 - A police officer pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he forced himself on an 18-year-old woman while on duty, authorities said.

 Officer Michael Turkington, 35, is facing four felony counts of false imprisonment, forced oral copulation, furnishing marijuana and committing the acts while on duty, the San Francisco district attorney's office said. He was arraigned in San Francisco Superior Court on Friday after being arrested earlier this week at his home in San Mateo.

 The judge reduced bail from $500,000 to $150,000 and ordered Turkington to sign a protective order requiring him to stay away from his accuser.

===============

    12/27/2005 - A member of the Sonoma County Sheriff Department's bomb squad is been charged with grand theft auto, perjury and other charges.

 Lt. Roger Rude said the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office is filing the charges against 34-year-old Marcus Parker but the Marin County District Attorney's Office will handle the criminal prosecution of the case.

 Rude said the Department of Motor Vehicles investigated transactions involving Parker and the sale of an automobile and that the sheriff's department had been aware of the investigation since June. Parker has been placed on paid administrative leave and an internal investigation also will be conducted, Rude said.

 Officer Parker was hired by the sheriff's department on Jan. 26, 1996 and formerly worked as a Santa Rosa Junior College police officer. He was assigned full time to the bomb squad on Jan. 4, 2005. Rude said the incident is a personnel matter and the sheriff's department cannot comment further.

 He is charged with vehicle theft, grand theft auto, perjury, possession of a stolen vehicle and grand theft in excess of $400. The alleged theft occurred on June 8, 2004 and reportedly involved a car Parker sold, repossessed and tried to trade in for another vehicle.

Parker was arrested Dec. 16 and is out of custody on his own recognizance.  

=============   

8/19/04 - SAN DIEGO Calling the defendant a "danger" to the public, a judge Thursday refused to lower the $1 million bail for a veteran San Diego police officer accused of buying stolen property from thieves and selling it on eBay.

Officer James Estrella, 45, and his wife, Ruthy, 35, are both charged with eight counts of receiving stolen property.

Deputy District Attorney Garry Haehnle said $200,000 in stolen merchandise was seized when officers searched the couple's Chula Vista warehouse following their arrests.

Haehnle argued that James Estrella was a flight risk because he and his wife have an embroidery business in the Philippines.

The police officer was convicted of misdemeanor disturbing the peace for grabbing a person by the throat at an auction after the victim criticized the defendant's online business, Haehnle said.

Judge Browder Willis said citizens deserve to be protected from allegedly corrupt sworn peace officers.

"I find that he's a danger to the public," the judge said.

Defense attorney Kerry Armstrong said James Estrella was a Marine Corps drill instructor, youth basketball coach and had worked for 15 years at the San Diego Police Department.

*******

   May 7, 2002 - A Sacramento police officer was arrested and charged Monday with raping a 16-year-old girl and sexually assaulting five other young women while on duty.

Darryl George Rosen, 26, was arrested about 3:30 p.m. at the department's internal affairs office following a five-month investigation, announced Chief Arturo Venegas Jr.

"This reflects upon the badge, the honor and the trust bestowed on us by the community," a grim Venegas said.

 An arrest warrant issued by the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office charged Rosen with one count of rape, four counts of sexual battery, and eight counts of assault by a public officer, all felonies; and one count of sexual battery and three counts of false imprisonment, all misdemeanors.

Rosen, who lives in Lincoln, is accused of attacking the victims while responding to police calls. Police officials say the attacks occurred between fall 2000 and December 2001. Rosen was suspended with pay in December.

 The victims told officers that Rosen was in uniform and alone when he contacted them while responding to calls or checking suspicious activity, said Capt. Mike McCarthy, head of investigations.

 Some of the women were arrested by Rosen after the assaults for unspecified crimes, while others were let go, McCarthy said, adding that Rosen had visited some of the victims more than once.

 The officer never threatened the women if they told of the alleged sexual contact, but "the uniform was enough of a threat," Venegas said.

Rosen was booked into the Sacramento County jail and was being held without bail. Authorities said he could face 15 years to life in prison if convicted.

The department would not release details of the criminal investigation because it involved alleged sexual assaults and because the department is bound by privacy issues relating to employees.

 McCarthy said the investigation began Dec. 14, when the department's internal affairs division was told by someone connected to the 16-year-old that she had been raped by the officer while in his custody.

 At the time, Rosen patrolled the north area of the city during the graveyard shift, McCarthy said. He was hired in December 1996 and spent one year working as a community service officer before being sworn in as a patrol officer.

McCarthy said the department launched the investigation quickly to monitor the officer's activity as well as find potential witnesses and to determine if other police officers were involved.

The investigation into the 16-year-old's claims was still developing when another patrol officer, who knew nothing of the ongoing probe, reported hearing of another possible victim. His information was given to the internal affairs division, McCarthy said.

 With evidence in two possible cases, Rosen was suspended Dec. 28, two weeks after the initial report, and placed on paid administrative leave.

He was still on paid leave as of Monday, Venegas said.

"That is part of the process we have to follow," the chief said. The department is recommending his termination.

 Rosen is married and grew up in Roseville. His parents and other family members also are in law enforcement. No one at his home was willing to comment.

 After Rosen was placed on leave, Venegas ordered investigators to look "as far back as possible" into all the calls he had answered to search for more victims. That investigation produced four more women who never reported the assaults until they were contacted by police, McCarthy said, although officers were unable to find everyone they searched for.

********

   05/16/05 - California - A former San Jose police officer was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday for what the cases prosecutor called a disgusting crime, molesting his 11-month-old daughter.

 Stephen Gallagher, 49, received the sentence from Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Ronald Lisk. Prosecutor James Gibbons-Shapiro had sought the maximum term, 10 years in prison.

 This crime is unbelievably serious, Gibbons-Shapiro said. ôHe had this child orally copulate him. There cannot be a more disgusting crime that I can think of.

Gallagher, a 22-year veteran of the San Jose Police Department, was arrested on Feb. 2 after the childs mother reported the incident she had recorded the night before.

 The mother had installed a hidden video camera, commonly known as a nanny cam, in the room where Gallagher was watching their daughter because she believed he might have been drinking around the toddler, according to court documents.

Gallagher pleaded guilty on Feb. 9.

The childs mother addressed the court today, saying she never wanted to have any contact with Gallagher again, according to Gibbons-Shapiro.

******

   A commissioner will be assigned to hear the case and decide on appropriate discipline. The issue of cops drinking and driving has been prevalent in recent weeks. Only last week, the commission heard that Officer Gary Hazelhofer of the Mission District allegedly drove his truck along a highway with a blood-alcohol reading of 0.10, with a handgun in the vehicle.

 Also facing drunk-driving charges is Officer Robert Ramos, a Richmond District cop who CHP officers allege drove erratically and registered a blood-alcohol reading of 0.17, then on a second testing, 0.15.

*****

  10/20/04 - California - While with the LAPD, Ruben Palomares led a crew of law enforcement cohorts in a crime spree that netted hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 A former Los Angeles police officer has admitted to federal authorities that he and a group of fellow area law enforcement officers conducted a string of brazen armed robberies across Southern California staged to look like legitimate law enforcement raids.

 Ruben Palomares, 34, and his cohorts stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs, cash, guns and other items over a nearly four-year period beginning in 1998, according to a plea agreement and related documents filed Tuesday. The one-time Rampart Division officer has agreed to plead guilty to a potential life sentence in connection with the crime spree and to cooperate with authorities.

The documents provide new details about Palomares' criminal enterprise, which has been the subject of an ongoing federal investigation since he was caught buying 10 kilograms of cocaine from undercover DEA agents three years ago.

Palomares and his band wore police uniforms and badges during many of the robberies. They would use LAPD squad cars and unmarked police vehicles during the heists, court documents show.

Some of the armed robberies turned brutally violent. At least two men were shot with stun guns during the robberies. Another man was beaten with a police baton, had a gun shoved in his mouth and was burned with a lighter, according to the documents.

The crew's crime spree yielded more than 700 pounds of marijuana and 50 kilos of cocaine, which Palomares' crew then sold for profit, the court papers state. In addition, the crew stole cars, money and an assortment of firearms and jewelry.

In one particularly bold robbery, crew members identified themselves as cops as they commandeered television sets from the back of semi truck on a street in Montebello, the documents show.

 According to court papers, Palomares' network of thieves used law enforcement tactics during their robberies. Some crew members were assigned surveillance duties, looking out for police and potential witnesses. Other members dubbed the "entry team" would burst into locations. Victims were often handcuffed as the bandits looked for drugs and money.

 As part of his plea deal, Palomares is required to cooperate with all aspects of the government's ongoing investigation. Palomares has no incentive to lie in his statements to authorities. The only possible way for him to earn a reduction in his life sentence is for prosecutors to determine that he has been truthful and to certify that he has provided "substantial assistance" to the investigation.

Even before Palomares agreed to cooperate, investigators had been able to verify many of the group's criminal acts through other means.

 Palomares and five others were active-duty law enforcement officers at the time, court documents show. Two were members of the LAPD. One of them was fired for unrelated misconduct; the other has since resigned.

Two others were Long Beach police officers who remain on the force, although they have been assigned desk duties pending the outcome of the federal investigation. The fifth was a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who now works as a prison guard.

He remains on the job with no restrictions at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi.

 Other members included Palomares' friends and relatives, according to sources familiar with the case. One participant was a professional female boxer.

 Authorities believe there were about 20 members in all. Palomares' wife, also an LAPD officer, has not been implicated in any direct involvement with the ring but is suspected of knowing about its activities, according to the sources.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O'Brien, the lead prosecutor on the case, declined comment.

 Winston Kevin McKesson, Palomares' lawyer, said the former officer has become a born-again Christian since his arrest and is trying to make amends for his misdeeds.

"He's decided to step forward and try to see that justice is done," said McKesson, who also represented Rafael Perez, the LAPD officer who launched the Rampart scandal in 1999. "He's trying to get right with God."

 Palomares, a former Golden Gloves boxer who sparred with such fighters as Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley, joined the LAPD in 1993. Because of his youthful appearance, he was assigned to a juvenile narcotics unit where he investigated drug use in high schools. He later transferred to the Rampart Division, where he continued to work in narcotics.

Allegations of corruption against Palomares first surfaced in 1999 during the Rampart scandal when Perez told detectives that Palomares once intimated that he had been involved in an unjustified shooting and covered it up.

"I would look at everything Palomares has done, every arrest that he's made, and scrutinize it very carefully," Perez told investigators.

Palomares was never criminally charged in the Rampart scandal.

In fact, court documents show, the height of Palomares' criminal activity was during the same time he was under investigation by the LAPD.

 Palomares' criminal rampage ended June 8, 2001, when he and four other men were arrested in San Diego in a cocaine sting by DEA agents. One of the men arrested that day immediately began cooperating with authorities, alleging that Palomares was the leader of a gang that conducted invasion-style robberies of drug dealers, sometimes dressed as cops.

 Palomares pleaded guilty to the San Diego drug charges last year and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Since his arrest, a team of FBI agents and LAPD detectives has been attempting to piece together the extent of his criminal activity.

 The investigation is not limited to off-duty crimes. Investigators have also been looking into a 1999 police shooting by former LAPD police Officer William Ferguson, who authorities believe was a member of Palomares' crew. Ferguson's attorney declined comment.

 Also under investigation is a December 2000 killing in Huntington Park, in which several crew members, including Palomares, allegedly attacked a man after an argument at a restaurant.

 At his sentencing last year, Palomares said he was remorseful about his life of crime. He said he had started abusing alcohol and pain pills after a shoulder injury forced him go on disability at the LAPD. He started committing robberies, he said, because he desperately needed money to provide for his five young children.

"I made the worst mistake of my life," Palomares said at the time. "I turned away from everything I knew to be true and steadfast, a decision I will regret every day for the rest of my life."

 Former LAPD police Officer Ruben Palomares has agreed to plead guilty to a string of armed robberies and other crimes committed across Southern California between 1998 and 2001.

*************

  October 14, 2004 - Deputy Matthew Simon was arrested and charged with one misdemeanor count of being under the influence of a controlled substance.

 In a report, a witness claims the 21-year-old Simon was seen taking various types of powerful prescription drugs on numerous occasions in the Buttonwillow area, and at times, offering those drugs to other youngadults and teenagers.

Sheriff's officials disclosed very few details during a press conference Thursday.

Investigators say they were notified in late August of the allegations.

The witness claims that Simon gave drugs like OxyContin, Vicodin, methadone and morphine to a family member and friends on several occasions over several months.

Simon was ordered to surrender his gun and his badge, and he was placed on administrative leave during the investigation.

A urine test that was taken as Simon was reporting for duty on Sept. 5 came back positive for morphine.

Simon is the son of Sgt. Norm Simon, a veteran of the sheriff's department for almost 30 years.

****

   10/20/04 - Peter J. Risk admitted he repeatedly lied to doctors for years to get illicit prescriptions for thousands of Vicodin pills. But Risk was a cop, albeit now a disgraced cop, who spent the last four years of his 22 years on the job for the Vallejo Police Department struggling with pain from multiple work-related injuries and subsequent surgeries.

Risk, who got caught up in a 2002 Drug Enforcement Agency investigation, was convicted by a jury in July of five felony charges of obtaining narcotics through false pretenses and two charges relating to the theft of a fellow officer's wallet and cellular telephone.

Before Judge Garry T. Ichikawa sentenced risk to two months behind bars, Risk's lawyer, Daniel Russo, tried to argue Risk's drug addiction was unusual.

"He was using drugs to get through the pain, not to get high. He was using so he could go to work," Russo said. Russo also said Risk lost his home and much of his cop's pension because of the felonies and that police officials were still disputing whether Risk was entitled to a disability pension and workers compensation coverage for future surgeries.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Mullins had a different perspective than Russo, arguing Risk had brought disgrace to the Vallejo Police Department.

****

   April 6th, 2005 - COLUSA, Calif. -- A Colusa County jury deliberated 35 minutes before convicting a Washington man of ambushing and killing a Red Bluff policeman in Nov. 2002.

Andrew Hampton Mickel, 26, of Olympia, Wash. had admitted to the killing during the trial.

Mickel, who acted as his own attorney, told jurors before they began deliberations Tuesday, that ''you would have to be fools to find me innocent. I would find me guilty.''

Mickel said on the first day of the two-week trial that he shot and killed David Mobilio, 31, while the patrol officer refueled his cruiser at a Red Bluff gasoline station.

  Mickel, also known as Andrew McCrae, said after the killing that he shot Mobilio to make a political statement against police brutality, but a judge refused to allow him to use it as a defense. Mickel had also claimed corporate immunity from prosecution because he formed a corporation named ''Proud and Insolent Youth.''

************

    July 9th, 2004 - PASADENA, Calif. -- A police training officer was placed on leave while officials consider disciplinary action over allegations that he tried to arrange a fight between a prisoner and a police trainee, a newspaper reported Thursday.

David Llanes, 36, was put on paid administrative leave while the police chief decides his fate, the Pasadena Star-News said.

Llanes could not be reached by The Associated Press. He declined comment when contacted by the newspaper.

Llanes allegedly bet Evans $20 that Robinson would win if the two fought, the ewspaper said.

 Evans and Llanes agreed that the suspect's handcuffs would be removed, and he would face no additional charges for anything that happened during the fight, according to Robinson.

 The three men went into a booking cell, where Llanes allegedly broke procedure by removing handcuffs from Evans. Robinson said the fight was about to begin when Evans changed his mind.

********

  May 03, 2004 - OAKLAND -- The judge assigned to preside over the retrial of three former Oakland police officers accused of being law-breaking "Riders" was switched last week to allay defense concerns that the first jurist chosen might be biased against one of the accused men.

 Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Horner was assigned to preside over the locally infamous police misconduct case after defense attorney William Rapoport expressed concern that Judge Jon Rolefson might have a jaded view of Jude Siapno.

 Rapoport declined to expand on the reasoning following an afternoon hearing in which Judge Thomas Reardon switched the Riders retrial to Horner's courtroom on the seventh floor of the Rene Davidson Courthouse in Oakland. Rapoport would only say the decision came after discussions with 35-year-old Siapno and attorneys representing 32-year-old Matthew Hornung and 38-year-old Clarence Mabanag.

 Siapno, Mabanag and Hornung face a combined 15 felony criminal counts, most accusing the trio of falsifying police reports in summer 2000 to justify drug arrests or explain injuries to suspects.

An overall count charges the former officers of conspiring to "pervert or obstruct justice" by joining together in rogue tacticsthat included lying about seeing people toss away crack cocaine.

********

  October 13, 1999 - Angeles Police Department officers in a shooting for which he spent three years in prison, has filed a lawsuit in California State court.

 The lawsuit, filed Tuesday against police officers involved in the shooting, the City of Los Angeles, and LAPD Police Chief Bernard Parks, among others, seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.

 Ovando's attorney, Gregory Moreno, says the suit seeks damages for the "false arrest, the wrongful shooting, the violation of Mr. Ovando's constitutional rights for [the officers] having intentionally shot him, attempting to kill him...murder him...After shooting him in the body, they actually shot him in the head, which left him mentally and physically incapacitated."

 Ovando, 22, was freed from prison last month after a jailed ex-police officer, Rafael Perez, told prosecutors he and his partner framed Ovando by planting a gun on him in a shooting which left Ovando paralyzed from the waist down and sent him to prison for a crime he apparently did not commit.

**************  

 07/09/2005 - CALIFORNIA -- A 36-year-old officer assigned to the Police Department's youth program was arrested for allegedly molesting a 15-year-old boy, authorities said Friday.

George Stan was arrested Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport while returning from a vacation, a police statement said. He was held on $2.5 million bail in Simi Valley, where the molestation allegedly occurred.

An LAPD spokeswoman referred questions about charges and Stan's arraignment to the Ventura County district attorney's office. The prosecutor assigned to sex crimes there did not return a call seeking comment.

 Stan had been assigned to the Devonshire station since 1991 and had been working with the department's Explorer program for youth for about a year. It was unclear whether the alleged victim was a member of the program, but police believe there may be other victims.

 The investigation began after a minor told LAPD officials in January of "inappropriate Internet communications by Stan," the department said. Investigators found that Stan had engaged in multiple sex acts with a 15-year-old boy, the LAPD said.

*************

  07/09/2005 - CALIFORNIA -- A former San Diego police officer pleaded guilty to a felony charge of using a minor to manufacture child pornography and three misdemeanor counts of possessing child pornography, it was announced Wednesday.

 Officer Brett Kenneth Hensley, 36, will be sentenced Sept. 15 in San Diego Superior Court. He faces a maximum of three years in prison. Hensley voluntarily surrendered on Jan. 18 following the execution of a search warrant at his home and job 11 months earlier by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and San Diego police officers.

 A forensic review of Hensley's computers revealed numerous images of child pornography and e-mail messages indicating he was communicating with girls and posing as a minor, ICE officials said. After further investigation, agents discovered that Hensley had solicited photos and phone sex with young females, authorities said.

One victim, who lives out of state, told agents that Hensley solicited phone sex with her over the Internet and requested that she e-mail him sexually explicit photos of herself, ICE said.

 The investigation into Hensley grew out of an ongoing ICE investigation into an Internet billing company in Minsk, Belarus. In January 2004, the company was charged with money laundering and providing credit card billing services for 50 child pornography Web sites worldwide and operating child pornography Web sites of its own, authorities said.

######UPDATE: Pervert officer Brett Kenneth Hensley is only given five years' probation. The judge must love child molesters to only give this pervert only probation. You people in San Diego ought to be outraged that your judges give light sentences to police officers that break the law.

 Also someone at Channel 7, the NBC affiliate in San Diego must be related to this pervert or doesn't give a rats ass if cops have porn pictures of children.  Station KNSD of San Diego, refused to show the officers face on t.v., instead the "blurred" out his face, so that the public wouldn't recognized him. KNSD must care alot more about police officers that are perverts, then informing the community of what this criminal looks like. Shame on you NBC, shame on you KNSD!

  **************

  07/08/2005 - CALIFORNIA -- When veteran SanDiego police Officer Phillip Bozarth shot and killed a 24-year-old man with a handgun in a Stockton neighborhood June 25, it marked the fifth person he has killed on the job in his 20-year career, police confirmed yesterday.

 June 25, it marked the fifth person he has killed on the job in his 20-year career, police confirmed yesterday.

 The four other shootings were ruled legal and justified -- and the latest involving the death of Ricardo Morales Carbajal remains under investigation. But the number of fatal incidents involving Bozarth, as with any officer-involved shooting, has raised concern.

 Despite being what some might consider a cowboy cop, San Diego police officials call Bozarth one of the department's best police officers, citing his strong work ethic and the numerous awards and citations to his credit.

 Bozarth, 42, is a respected field training officer and works the front lines, usually in high-crime areas, his colleagues say. After the latest incident, Bozarth was assigned to administrative duties.

"He is an excellent and tenacious officer, a compassionate, caring man with a stellar record and a strong work ethic," said Executive Assistant Chief Bill Maheu. "He really loves and respects the community he serves."

  Maheu also praised Bozarth's tactical work as an officer. With that said, Maheu added that the department has concerns after any officer-involved shooting, first and foremost to determine whether the use of deadly force was reasonable under the circumstances. (Maheu would not comment on the latest shooting because it remains under review.)

 Officers who fire their weapons also go through a psychological evaluation. Internal affairs, homicide and field training officials analyze the actions that led to the shooting and whether anything could have been done differently.

 Maheu said Bozarth passed those benchmarks and "functioned very well" after each of the four other fatal shootings, always returning to patrol work.

 Maheu added that in separate recent incidents, Bozarth disarmed a man wielding a loaded, AR-15-type rifle and another with a loaded 9 mm pistol -- both without firing his weapon or causing injuries.

*********

  January 24th, 2005 - Three Menlo Park police officers are expected in San Mateo County court today to face a civil lawsuit alleging they used excessive force in a December 2000 arrest, then lied in police reports to cover up their actions.

 The plaintiff, 56-year-old David Alan McBay, already has won a non-binding arbitration hearing against the city, which declined to pay the $29,500 awarded to McBay and instead take the case to trial.

 San Mateo County prosecutors in 2001 dismissed a criminal case against McBay stemming from the arrest after a jury deadlocked 9-3 in his favor.

 McBay claims in his suit that the three officers manhandled him and threw him face-first onto an asphalt driveway because they thought he was trespassing in an unoccupied home. In fact, the homeowner confirmed later, McBay had permission to stay there, and McBay says in his lawsuit that he tried to convince police of that before they sent him to the hospital with 17 stitches in his nose and chin.

 Menlo Park City Attorney Bill McClure said the officers behaved appropriately and that Menlo Park would not tolerate police misconduct.

 In an unrelated case last week, one of the three officers named in the suit -- canine patrol officer Scott Mackdanz -- was accused by a motorist he arrested in August of using excessive force and falsifying police reports. That man, James Edward Lee, 60, faces misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest.

 Lee's defense lawyer persuaded a Superior Court judge to let him review Mackdanz's personnel records, including any complaints filed against the officer within the past five years. Attorney Mitri Hanania said that the judge forbade him from commenting about the records, but that he made the request because a pattern of complaints would show a ``dishonest propensity.''

 The claims against Menlo Park police come as two officers in Palo Alto face a criminal trial for allegedly beating a motorist and as a pair of East Palo Alto patrolmen are under investigation for allegedly beating a suspected drug dealer while off-duty.

**********

  12/10/04 - California - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that San Diego, California, officials were right to fire a policeman who sold sexually explicit videotapes of himself in uniform.

The unsigned, unanimous opinion reverses a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in favor of the officer, who sued under the alias John Roe and claimed his free speech rights were violated.

At issue was the scope of the First Amendment, which protects government workers from discharge if their conduct involves a "public concern" rather than personal, job-related issues such as salary or promotions.

"The speech in question was detrimental to the mission and functions of the employer," justices said in the ruling, noting that Roe "took deliberate steps to link his videos and other wares to his police work, all in a way injurious to his employer."

************

    July 1st, 2004 - LOS ANGELES -- Police officers were not following department policies during the televised arrest and beating of an unarmed black man, Police Chief William Bratton said.

"It is a mess. It is not what we teach at the academy," Bratton told the Los Angeles City Council during a two-hour briefing Wednesday.

 The June 23 beating of suspected car thief Stanley Miller has drawn comparisons to the 1991 beating of black motorist Rodney King and has prompted state and federal investigations. Eight officers have been put on desk duty pending the outcome of the probes.

 Miller, 36, was chased by police from South Los Angeles to Compton after he was spotted running a red light in a reportedly stolen car, officers said. Television news helicopters broadcast footage of him being kicked and repeatedly struck with a heavy metal flashlight after he had apparently surrendered and was on the ground.

The police chief told the City Council that it still was unclear from the videotapes where Miller was struck.

He said a series of tactical errors were made during the arrest, beginning with an officer who holstered his gun before tackling Miller when he should have kept it trained on the suspect while other officers handcuffed him.

Officer John Hatfield's kicking of Miller also was not departmental policy, he said. "We don't teach kicks," Bratton said.

**********

   May 11, 2004 - A San Francisco police officer who was suspended and put on probation two years ago for insubordination faces new charges that he allegedly made sexual advances toward a woman while on duty.

 Taraval station Officer Terry Huey -- who had been suspended for 90 days in 2002 and could be dismissed if guilty of another violation of department regulations -- is accused of making unwanted romantic advances toward a woman who complained that her landlord had entered her apartment illegally. The newly constituted Police Commission will assign a member Wednesday to conduct a hearing on the case.

 Steve Johnson, Huey's union representative, declined to comment. According to the charges, the misconduct occurred when Huey, 40, who has been on the force six years, and his partner answered a call at the woman's apartment June 8. Huey spoke to the woman, who said her landlord had entered her home without permission.

 Huey allegedly asked the woman if she was married, whether she lived alone, about her sexual orientation, whether she was in a relationship and "if she was having her sexual urges satisfied,'' the charges state. Huey said his wife had been killed in a car wreck and suggested that he and the woman go to the bar across the street.

 Huey also reportedly remarked on the woman's wrist tattoo, then asked her to guess where he had a tattoo before telling her it was on his buttocks. He allegedly stroked the woman's shoulder.

****

  April 8, 2004 - The San Francisco Police Commission on Wednesday suspended two sergeants and refused to throw out a case against five officers accused of groping two girls and using excessive force against a boy during an arrest in Hunters Point.

The commission voted to suspend Sgt. Damon Keeve for 45 days.

 Keeve admitted to trying to dismiss a traffic ticket by bribing a Brisbane police officer and leaving a message with that city's police chief in 2002. Keeve also faces an additional 45-day suspension if another complaint is sustained against him within the next two years.

Sgt. Thomas Haymond was suspended for 10 days for injuring a man with a flashlight during an arrest in 2001.

 Attorneys for the five officers accused of misconduct at Hunters Point during a car search in January 2002 wanted the case dismissed because the one- year statute of limitations had expired when the department filed charges in April 2003.

In other action, the commission rejected a deal with Lt.  Daniel Curiel, who was accused of being verbally abusive to his subordinates and making sexist remarks about a female lieutenant.

Curiel offered to accept punishment that included 120 days suspension without pay and immediate termination from the department if any more complaints were sustained against him.  

***************

   April 8, 2004 - Bayview residents said they had to wait more than two years for justice, but believed it was worth it Wednesday, after the Police Commission voted that five police officers accused of roughing up a group of kids at a housing project on Martin Luther King Jr. Day would face a disciplinary hearing.

  The police officers are accused of assaulting a teenage boy and inappropriately touching a young at gunpoint on the ground in a controversial incident on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2002. The police have always maintained they were responding to a report that there was a pair of armed bandits in the Bayview housing project and that they mistook the youths for the two men.

"I'm ecstatic, I'm so glad," wept Susie McAllister, who says her teenage daughter was inappropriately touched by a police officer.

 "The Police Commission needed to take a stand, to say, 'We hear you, and we are going to back you up.' I appreciate it 100 percent. It lets the Police Department know we are not going to tolerate this from anybody."

 It was one action of several taken by the Police Commission at one of their final meetings before the board is dissolved, following criticism that they were soft on police officers and failed to listen to community concerns about police misconduct.

 Observers speculated that officers were keen to have their cases heard by the current set of commissioners before a new, more "independent minded" group of commissioners appointed by the mayor and the board of supervisors, takes over at the end of the month.

The commission ruled in a 3-2 vote in favor of a disciplinary hearing, denying the officers' attorney's motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that the 12-month statute of limitations had passed.

  Sgt. Walter Cuddy and Sherman Lee were charged with failing to properly carry out their duties, with Cuddy further charged with neglecting his duty involving procedures concerning minors. Police officers Marcial Marquez and Adam Choy were charged with conducting an improper search of a female juvenile. Officer Nicholas Bettencourt faces charges of failing to identify why police were in the area and for making a racial slur. 

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