Lawyer Alleges Attempt to Destroy Bias Case Evidence

A plaintiff’s lawyer alleged in court last week that a Glendale assistant city attorney urged two police officers to destroy material subpoenaed as evidence in a discrimination lawsuit against the Glendale Police Department.

The allegation was another round in a bitter lawsuit being heard in a non-jury trial before U. S. District Court Judge Dickran Tevrizian Jr. The suit was brought by Officer Ricardo Jauregui, a Latino, who accused the Police Department of discrimination in promoting a less qualified Anglo police officer over him.

In the most dramatic events so far in the trial, Jauregui’s attorney, David Alkire, attempted to elicit from John Perkins, president of the Glendale Police Officers Assn., his recollection of a conversation with two officers who told him that they had gone to Scott Howard, assistant city attorney, for legal advice.

Howard, who is defending the city against Jauregui’s suit, objected, saying that any statements Perkins might make about the two officers could “result in legal action against people.” He also argued that the testimony would be irrelevant.

Initially, Tevrizian ruled that any discussions between Howard and the two officers were privileged and said that Perkins’ account of the conversation was possibly hearsay.

‘A Little Burning Party’

Alkire, asked to explain why such testimony would be relevant, replied that the two officers--Justus Knight and Siegfried Faucette--had told Perkins that Howard had “suggested that they have a little burning party in his office” to get rid of racially derogatory flyers sought as evidence in the Jauregui trial.

“Absolutely false!” Howard shouted. He demanded a mistrial, saying that the allegation would have a prejudicial effect upon the judge, making it impossible for the city to receive a fair trial.

“Mistrial motion denied,” Tevrizian said. The judge then ruled that he would not allow the testimony of Perkins because Alkire had not shown the relevance of it to his client’s lawsuit.

Alkire introduced the flyers as evidence in an attempt to depict an atmosphere of racism in the Glendale Police Department. Upon orders from the judge, city officials are investigating the origins of the flyers.

Sgt. Randall Tampa--the officer Jauregui said had been unfairly promoted over him in 1985--has admitted that he produced some of the 15 racially derogatory flyers that have become an issue in the trial. Tampa said that he and several other officers had circulated the flyers in the department.

Knight and Faucette, who are black, told Perkins that they had obtained some of the flyers, which they did not want to be used to aid the Latino officer’s case, Perkins testified.

Perkins said that the city’s personnel director, John F. Hoffman, recently told him that, if he testified about the two officers’ allegations, it could be “career-damaging” to Perkins. Tevrizian allowed that testimony, he said, because the court was interested in any attempt to “intimidate witnesses,” although Perkins said Hoffman’s alleged warning did not intimidate him.

Hoffman was called to the stand on the city’s behalf early in the trial, but was not questioned about the alleged warning to Perkins. Reached at his office on Wednesday, Hoffman said his comments to Perkins were taken out of context.

“What we talked about were the complexities of the case and the impact and the possible ramifications the trial could have on the employee relations in the organization,” Hoffman said. He said he was not trying to intimidate or coerce Perkins.

Statements Called ‘Malicious’

In an interview outside the courtroom, Howard accused Alkire and the two black officers of making “malicious, false and untrue” allegations. He said that, when the trial is over, he plans to release a statement regarding legal action he may take against the officers.

Howard told reporters that the two officers made the allegations because they became angry at his tough cross-examination when they testifed on Jauregui’s behalf.

Faucette and Knight, both patrolman, have been on the force for about five years. During their courtroom testimony, neither mentioned the alleged “burning” suggestion. Alkire had called the men to the stand to testify on the purported atmosphere of racism in the department.

However, in a recent interview with The Times, Faucette and Knight repeated the allegation. They said they decided to discuss the incident publicly only after other members of the Police Department held a rally in support of the city’s side of the trial.

The two officers also conceded that they were upset that Howard accused them in court of telling him that they had planned to file their own discrimination lawsuit. On the stand, they denied that. However, in the interview, they conceded telling Howard that they had once considered suing the city.

Said Knight: “Basically, I felt that he had breached our confidential agreement.”

Subpoenas Served May 16

According to court records, subpoenas ordering the officers to turn over the racially derogatory flyers were served May 16. A few days later, the two officers said, they went to Howard’s office to see if the city would represent them if they sought to disobey the subpoena. They said they wanted to withhold the flyers because they did not think Jauregui had a valid case.

The subpoenas ordered the officers to hand over to Alkire “all writing of any kind which reflect or describe any incident reflecting racial, ethnic or sexual bias . . . this includes, but is not limited to, any cartoons, personal handwritten notes, memoranda, correspondence, and other writing, documents and drawings of any kind which appeared upon the premises of the Glendale Police Department.”

The officers said they collected the materials from the walls and bulletin boards of the department and saved them in case they need them for a legal action of their own.

One flyer depicts a running black figure with the caption “Official Running Nigger Target.” A second cartoon shows two apes with Faucette’s and Knight’s faces superimposed over the apes’ faces.

Faucette said Howard told them that he would take them out to dinner sometime later and that they were to give him the flyers so he could look them over. He quoted Howard as saying: “Then we’ll come to my office and we’ll have a burning party. And then what you guys do is you go into court and you just say, ‘I don’t recall,’ because if you don’t recall they can’t make you do anything.”

The officers said they did not agree to destroy the materials because Howard was interested in protecting the city, not their interests.

Privileged Communication Claimed

Howard acknowledged in an interview that he did meet with the pair in May. Describing that conversation as part of the confidential attorney-client relationship, he declined to reveal what was said.

However, he again denied the two officers’ allegations, saying they were making “a personal statement against my integrity.”

In his suit, Jauregui seeks the promotion, unspecified back pay at the sergeant’s level and an order for the city to stop what he alleges are discriminatory promotion practices.

The city has said that Jauregui was not promoted because of his personality, not his ethnic origins.

The trial, which opened Sept. 10 and was expected to last four days, has so far taken 10 court days over a four-week period.

The city rested its case last week after calling Glendale Police Chief David Thompson, who testified that the Police Department has taken some steps to help its officers better understand other cultures.

Final arguments in the trial are expected this week.