Lieutenant Denies He Felt Threatened by Prosecutor

A San Diego police lieutenant warned by a prosecutor that it was not in “his personal best interest” to meet with a defense attorney said Tuesday he did not interpret the remark as a threat.

Lt. Lee Staley, a former supervisor of an officer who has shot three civilians in the last five years, said the comment was made in a “lighthearted” fashion and in no way discouraged him from answering the defense lawyer’s questions.

The remark is the centerpiece of a move by Assistant Public Defender Deborah Carson to gain the dismissal of assault charges against George Balboa, a Logan Heights man shot March 23 by San Diego Police Officer Stephen Williamson.

In court papers filed Monday, Carson alleged that Deputy Dist. Atty. Hugh McManus had sought to intimidate Staley and other police supervisors to keep them from providing her with information about the mental state and past performance of Williamson, who has shot three people, including Balboa, since 1981.

Carson contends that McManus’ conduct violated the legal profession’s ethical standards and justifies dismissing the charges against Balboa. In the alternative, she has asked that the district attorney’s office be found in contempt of court and be disqualified from prosecuting the case against Balboa.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled next week. The district attorney’s office has denied any misconduct in the case.

In an interview Tuesday, Staley confirmed that he told Carson last week that McManus had warned him it was not in “his personal best interest” to meet with her.

“He just casually said it may not be in your best interest to go talk to her, because invariably when officers go ahead and do that, what they say goes back and bites them in the tail,” Staley said.

But Staley added that McManus made the remark in a “lighthearted” fashion, and he noted that he did meet with Carson in spite of the comment.

“Even if I thought there was something that would be detrimental to the case or the department or the city, I think the department is big enough that they wouldn’t direct me not to reveal what I knew,” Staley said.

Carson said Tuesday that, regardless of Staley’s feelings, the conduct of the prosecution was improper.

“It could have a chilling effect,” she said. “The fact it didn’t on Lieutenant Staley is, I think, to his credit. But it’s my belief it did have a chilling effect on other officers, or else they would have talked to us after setting up appointments to talk to us, instead of canceling their appointments.”