Student-Police ‘Romance’ Snags Drug Sale Cases

Police will recommend against prosecuting eight suspected drug sellers at Kennedy High School in Granada Hills because the policewoman who arrested them had a “romantic relationship” with a 17-year-old boy while she posed as a student, a department spokesman said Monday.

Although the boy was not one of those arrested and the asserted romance did not figure in any of the eight arrests, Lt. Dan Cooke said defense attorneys would probably bring up the undercover policewoman’s “bad judgment” if the cases went to trial.

The policewoman was assigned to the high school as part of a semiannual school buy operation in which youthful looking Los Angeles police officers infiltrate schools to identify and arrest drug dealers.

The relationship appeared to be “romantic and not sexual,” and the boy is not a suspect in any drug selling case, said Capt. Clayton Mayes, commander of the Juvenile Division.

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Authorities said the relationship developed as the policewoman attended classes in the fall. The youth’s mother reported it to investigators Dec. 5.

Police spokesmen described the relationship as an extraordinary incident in a program that netted 155 alleged drug pushers.

“We want every one of these cases to be solid, but here the judgment of the officer is being called into question,” Mayes said in explaining why the cases may be dropped.

“We have a long-standing policy against converting on-duty, official contacts to an off-duty, personal relationship,” he added.

Mayes said the policewoman is a Juvenile Division officer who has not reached her 18-month probationary review. She has been placed on inactive status, on which she continues to receive her salary but does not report to work, Mayes said. Authorities would not identify her or the boy.

The police Internal Affairs unit is investigating the case, but criminal charges against her are not anticipated, Cooke said. Police Department officials could recommend disciplinary action against the officer, ranging from verbal censure to dismissal, Cooke said. Any punishment would be reviewed by Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.

Cooke said police will file criminal charges against the eight suspected drug sellers--seven students and one adult--but will recommend against prosecuting them to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Kennedy Principal Jim Ball said Monday that the incident would not stop the school from taking part in the undercover drug purchases again. But, he said, it has “hurt the reputation of the school and the school buy program. It’s put a bad taste in my mouth. . . .”

Refused to Buy

Ball also said the undercover policewoman asked the boy where drugs could be bought and asked him to “buy for her.” But the youth, a senior who plays varsity football, refused, the principal said.

The policewoman and the student were known as “a couple who would spend breaks together” but apparently did not date, Ball said. The student learned that the woman was an undercover officer after arrests were made Dec. 2.

“He’s angry, disappointed, upset,” Ball said. “He feels betrayed.”