Police Misconduct

A dispute over who should be held liable when an on-duty Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy commits serious misconduct is hampering contract negotiations between county officials and the leaders of the 40 cities that pay the sheriff to patrol their streets. The disagreement stems from the case of former Deputy Gabriel Gonzalez, convicted in 2006 of raping three women while on duty in Compton and surrounding areas.

Hugh R. Manes, a veteran civil rights lawyer who for 40 years fought for victims of police misconduct, died Saturday at his Los Angeles home after a long battle with emphysema, according to his law partner, Carol Watson. He was 84. Manes began representing victims of police misconduct in the 1960s, nearly three decades before the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney G. King by Los Angeles police officers threw a harsh spotlight on the issue of police brutality.

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has begun an internal affairs investigation into a deputy's use of pepper spray to make an arrest at a political fundraiser. The probe was ordered after Democratic congressional hopeful Francine Busby met with Undersheriff Bill Gore to complain about the incident Friday at a home in a Cardiff neighborhood. Busby is seeking her party's nomination for a rematch next year with Rep.

The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the Inglewood Police Department's fatal shooting of 31-year-old Marcus Smith in May. The criminal probe, which was announced by the city in late June, is at least the third ongoing investigation into the department's use of deadly force. The FBI confirmed that it had opened the investigation, but would not discuss it. The civil rights division of the U.S.

A landmark reform instituted 16 years ago by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to weed out problem deputies has been remarkably successful in identifying officers who have the potential for misconduct and excessive force, according to a report released Tuesday. The study concluded that there is a strong link between the number of complaints filed against a deputy -- proven or not -- and the possibility that the deputy will eventually get into serious trouble and become a liability for the department The monitoring system, which tracks complaints, conduct and use of force, was established in 1993 after a scathing report by a special commission found a "disturbing" pattern of excessive force and mistreatment of minorities in the Sheriff's Department.

Inglewood residents and community activists this week criticized city officials' decision to withhold from the public a report by an independent consultant who was hired to look into several controversial shootings in which police officers fatally wounded unarmed suspects. "Everybody is waiting and waiting to see what this report says," said Adrianne Sears, chairwoman of Inglewood's Citizen Police Oversight Commission, which has not been given a copy of the report. Tony Muhammad, an activist who has also pressed the City Council for the report, said the lack of transparency has led to "discomfort and distrust" among residents.

The family of an unarmed man fatally shot last month by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy filed a legal claim against the county Wednesday, alleging that sheriff's deputies are poorly trained and routinely use deadly force on people who don't pose any threat. On Sept. 14, a deputy chased Darrick Collins up his driveway in Athens and into his own backyard, believing he was a robbery suspect. The deputy saw Collins reach for his waistband, causing him to fear that Collins was going for a weapon, sheriff's officials said.

Three Los Angeles police officers were charged with perjury and conspiracy Tuesday for allegedly lying under oath in a drug-possession case that was dismissed last year when a videotape sharply contradicted their testimony. The felony charges mark the most serious allegations of police perjury in Los Angeles since the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart scandal about a decade ago. Prosecutors allege in court documents that two officers falsely testified during the trial that they saw a suspect throw an object that split open to reveal crack and powder cocaine.

Second of two parts Michael Slider was home on a day off from his job as a Los Angeles police detective when his phone rang shortly after 10 in the morning. It was his teenage niece. "They shot Grandma. Someone shot Grandma," she said over and over. Slider's mind raced. The girl had spent the night before with her grandmother, Pamela Lark, and Lark's daughter, Khristina Henry. For months, mother and daughter had been living in fear. Slider's stomach tightened with panic as he grabbed his keys.

A decorated Burbank Police Department sergeant who was named in an FBI probe shot and killed himself on a residential street corner Thursday, authorities said. Burbank police responding to a "shots fired" call about 11:40 a.m. near North Sunset Canyon Drive at East Harvard Road found Neil Thomas Gunn, 50, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police officials called the death of the 22-year veteran "a devastating tragedy" and said the investigation into what led to the suicide would be handled by the neighboring Glendale Police Department.