LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Los Angeles Ethics Commission ruled today that
former Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Jim Parker violated city rules by
releasing an audio tape of his conversation with a “Django Unchained” actress
during her arrest in 2014, and fined him $500.
Staff had recommended a $10,000 fine, but all four present members of
the commission agreed that a more nominal fine was appropriate. Commissioner
Ana Dahan was absent.
Lawrence Hanna, Parker’s lawyer, vowed before the hearing to file a
lawsuit against the city in Superior Court if the commission levied any fine or
if it ruled that Parker had violated any laws.
“This is wrong. It’s not over,” Hanna said after the ruling.
All four commissioners said they believed there was a clear violation of
the law. The ruling fined Parker $250 for each count he was facing — the
disclosure of confidential information and the misuse of position or authority
to create a private advantage.
“I believe that in serving the city of L.A., Mr. Parker had an
obligation not just to protect the Los Angeles Police Department, but the city
of Los Angeles itself,” said commission Vice President Serena Oberstein at the
hearing.
“By releasing the audio tape, I believe that Mr. Parker violated the
City Charter and did not protect the city of L.A. and its process.”
The Ethics Commission enforces city laws regarding governmental ethics,
conflicts of interests, campaign financing, and lobbying, but has rarely filed
a complaint against a police officer.
Los Angeles Police Protective League President Craig Lally and Director
Mark Cronin spoke before the commission in support of Parker. Both recounted
times they had released audio recordings of incidents in the field to the media
in the past and were not disciplined.
“The problem I have with the Ethics Commission in general, you get to
pick and choose who you want to go after,” Lally said. “If you want to you
can come after me, because I did the exact same set of circumstances, what I
did.”
No one from the commission directly addressed the question of why they
chose to examine a case against a police officer.
“This is not about whether or not we agree or disagree with anything
Officer Parker has done. It’s not about whether we agree or disagree with the
wisdom of the law,” commission President Jessica Levinson said.
“It’s not about what has happened in other cases that are not before us
which we are not permitted to consider. It’s not about the political climate,
as much as we may want to consider this. It is our duty as commissioners just
to apply the facts before us.”
Hanna contends that Parker did not violate any city laws or LAPD policies.
Hanna said officers have been using audio recorders in the field for
decades, the order authorizing their use does not say the recordings are
confidential, and no officer has been disciplined previously for releasing
audio recordings from the field.
Hanna questioned the motives of the commission and the LAPD in targeting
Parker for discipline, saying that the retired sergeant is gay and that could
have been the motivation, or that Parker continued to defend himself to the
media after being ordered not speak publicly about the case.
“You are cowards,” Hanna said to the commission. Later, he added, “We
want clarity, that’s all we want. I’m sorry I insulted you, but every officer
on the beat has to be thinking about this.
“This is wrong. Don’t send a message like everybody else is that we are
going to beat up on police officers this year when they are dying out there.”
The incident that led to the leaked audio tape occurred on Sept. 11,
2014, when Parker responded to a call of two people engaged in sex in a car
parked near Ventura Boulevard and Radford Avenue in Studio City.
Parker found Daniele Watts and her boyfriend, Brian James Lucas,
standing near a car and police said they matched the description of the couple
involved.
Police said Watts refused to give Parker any identification and walked
away. Two other officers handcuffed her, but she was let go after Lucas
presented them with her identification.
The case received significant media attention after Lucas later claimed
on Facebook that the officers appeared to believe he and Watts were engaged in
prostitution because he is white and she is black.
Watts had a small supporting role in the 2012 film “Django Unchained.”
Four days after the incident, according to an Ethics Commission report,
Parker released an audio recording of the encounter to the celebrity news
website TMZ because he wanted to counter the claims of racism and to defend
himself.
The report also said that on Sept. 30, 2014, Parker admitted on the
record to the LAPD’s Board of Police Commissioners that he provided the audio
recording to TMZ and that he knew doing so violated LAPD policy.
Parker said the LAPD opened an internal affairs inquiry into the
incident and ordered Parker not to speak to the media, but that Parker retired
in June 2015 before any investigation was completed.
Watts and Lucas pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace and were
ordered to write apology letters to the officers and to the civilians who
called the LAPD about their encounter. As part of a deal with prosecutors,
charges of lewd conduct were dropped.
In February, the Ethics Commission selected the California Office of
Administrative Hearings to serve as the administrative hearing officer in the
case, and Administrative Law Judge Samuel Reyes later determined that Parker
violated city law but recommended no penalty.
However, Ethics Commission staff has recommended that the commission
adopt Reyes’ factual findings but impose a penalty of $10,000.
Hanna said the only way for the commission to compel Parker to pay any
fine would be to file a civil lawsuit, which would likely cost far more than
the potential $500 it would be seeking to recover.
Really? Cop in Django Unchained actress flap fined.
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