Prosecutors will ask a judge to overturn the conviction of a gang member accused of assaulting police during a controversial 1996 shooting in which Los Angeles Police Department officers from the scandal-plagued Rampart Division killed one man and wounded two others, sources said Monday.
The court action, which is expected next Tuesday, is significant because it suggests that prosecutors no longer have confidence in the accounts of officers who were involved in the shooting characterized by former officer-turned-informer Rafael Perez as "dirty." It is potentially the most serious case under review in the expanding LAPD corruption scandal in that a homicide occurred during an incident involving alleged police misconduct.
Prosecutors will join in a petition filed on behalf of Oscar Peralta, an 18th Street gang member who was shot after he allegedly pulled a gun on anti-gang CRASH officers in an apartment building in the 600 block of South Shatto Place.
In court papers, Bruce Brown, Peralta's lawyer, said prosecutors have repeatedly referred to Peralta as the "victim of a police crime." Prosecutors previously have acknowledged that the corruption probe has uncovered evidence that may exonerate Peralta, but have refused to disclose the information, saying that it would hinder an ongoing criminal investigation into police misconduct.
"This is a tactical maneuver to make sure that the information we are seeking will never see the light of day until they want it to," Brown said. "What I think it does is heightens the chance that there ultimately will be an indictment filed against some members of the Rampart CRASH unit. This is a sign which lends credibility to Mr. Peralta's claim that he shouldn't have been a defendant, but was a victim."
A grand jury has been convened to examine the possible criminal conduct of officers involved. At least two officers, and perhaps others, who were present at the Shatto Place shooting have been subpoenaed. It is unclear whether they have yet testified. Although prosecutors and investigators suspect serious police misconduct in the shooting, sources close to the investigation say that proving such crimes is another matter.
Perez, who will receive a lighter sentence on cocaine theft charges in return for his cooperation, says he is testifying to clear his conscience, his attorney Winston Kevin McKesson said.
