2 Officers May Be Suspended Over Shooting Incident

Two Santa Ana police officers have been notified that they may be suspended without pay for their involvement in an off-duty incident in which shots were fired into a county supervisor’s office.

Officers Daniel Armanderez and Geraldine Bucene received notices advising them that the department intends to give them 30 days and 60 days off, respectively, a source close to the case said.

Lt. Bob Chavez, a department spokesman, said Deputy Police Chief Eugene Hansen will make a final decision on the conditions of the suspensions by Friday. One source said it had not been decided by Tuesday whether the officers may substitute vacation or accrued time for the suspension period.

Armanderez and Bucene did not fire their guns, but they were among seven officers who gathered on a rooftop parking structure three months ago after a night of drinking. Five other officers fired shots that struck windows in the office of an aide to Supervisor Roger B. Stanton.

Three of the officers who fired their guns--Jesse Teshima, Jill Tangedal and Paul Coulter--have been fired. They have appeal hearings scheduled before the seven-member city Personnel Board as follows: Teshima, Sept. 17; Tangedal, Sept. 24, and Coulter, Oct. 8.

Two other officers who fired shots, James Bland and Scott Zimmerman, have resigned.