Police Captain Faces Inquiry in Allegation by Officer
A Los Angeles police captain, accused of roughing up a female desk officer who tried to stop him from taking a card she had received in a bouquet of flowers, faces a Police Department board of inquiry, a police spokesman said Saturday.
Police Chief Daryl F. Gates called for the board of inquiry, the Police Department’s most serious review, for Capt. Jerry Conner, 49, commander of the 77th Street station in South Los Angeles, Cmdr. William Booth said.
Booth declined to discuss the specific charges against the captain. Conner has been on paid administrative leave for the last two weeks.
George Aliano, president of the Police Protective League, said officers under Conner’s command have complained that the 24-year veteran is “pushy and bossy.”
The alleged incident between Conner and the female officer, Patricia Ibarra, 24, took place this summer. Ibarra reportedly did not answer Conner when he asked who had sent her flowers and a note, which were on the station’s front desk.
Conner then grabbed the note and indicated that he would copy it and post it on the station’s bulletin board, witnesses said. The result was a shouting match, after which Conner shoved Ibarra “pretty hard,” according to one officer.
Ibarra has filed a $500,000 damage claim against Conner and transferred to another division at her own request, said her attorney, Mary Ann Healy.
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