Former Commander of Police Anti-Terror Unit Cleared in Pay Probe

The former commander of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Anti-Terrorist Division, who left the elite unit in December amid allegations of overtime pay irregularities, has been cleared of any wrongdoing, a department spokesman said Wednesday.

An internal audit “did not find any evidence of misconduct” involving Capt. Robert M. Smitson, 49, said Cmdr. William Booth, the Police Department’s ranking spokesman.

“The audit has been completed; it has been reviewed,” Booth said. “The things that the audit said needed to be done have been done, and there was nothing that was forwarded on to the disciplinary machinery of the department.”

Probe Launched

The investigation was begun late last year by the department’s Inspection and Control Section, which reports directly to Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.

Smitson could not be reached for comment Wednesday. A co-worker said Smitson resigned from the department this week after 28 years as a police officer.

Department administrators had termed the audit involving Smitson “routine.” However, officers questioned by investigators said they were asked specifically about overtime pay that Smitson was alleged to have received while moonlighting as a college instructor during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Smitson has taught at Rio Hondo College in Whittier for about 14 years. He has served as the physical training director for the college’s police science section, and also has conducted classes in “officer survival,” teaching methods to minimize an officer’s risk in street confrontations.

Took Command

The highly decorated Smitson took over command of the Anti-Terrorist Division in January, 1985.

He went on medical leave Nov. 20, complaining of chest pains and numbness in his left arm. The leave began about a month after investigators questioned officers regarding overtime pay that Smitson had claimed.

Smitson returned to duty last month as commander of the department’s Northeast area station.

“He informed us yesterday that it was his intention to retire,” Capt. Clayton Mayes, who had been acting commander of the Northeast station in Smitson’s absence, said Wednesday. “He said he discussed it with his wife, and that after 28 years it was time to do something else for a change. Yesterday was his last day here.”

Booth said he did not know of Smitson’s resignation. “As far as I know he is still at Northeast,” he said.