Officer Who Hit ‘Prisoner’ Gets 3-Month Suspension

A Los Angeles police officer found guilty last week of beating a prisoner--who actually was a fellow officer working undercover--was suspended for three months by a police disciplinary board on Tuesday.

After deliberating two hours, a three-member Board of Rights panel recommended that Officer Michael L. Sillers, 37, be relieved of duty for 66 working days without pay. The board, in a sternly worded statement, warned Sillers that any future use of excessive force against a prisoner would be grounds for termination.

The board’s recommended penalty will take effect immediately. Police Chief Daryl F. Gates has five days in which to review the recommendation, which, under departmental policy, he can reduce but not increase.

The beating incident occurred last February at the Southeast Division police station, where Sillers, a 16-year veteran, confronted two handcuffed men he thought were arrested narcotics suspects. According to testimony at his hearing, one of the undercover officers mimicked an expression used by Sillers, who responded by kicking and punching him.

Cite Intention

However, the board said Tuesday that Sillers did not intend to deliver a “full-force blow and kick,” but rather to “forcibly grab” the suspects.

Sillers has been off duty since late April, pending the board’s action. On June 29, he was found guilty of “unnecessarily involving himself with a handcuffed suspect” and of “unnecessarily striking a handcuffed officer posing as an arrestee.” His penalty is retroactive, and will include the period he has already been on leave.

He has also been arraigned by the district attorney’s office on charges of battery and use of force under color of authority. If convicted, Sillers could face a year in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.

Testimony at the penalty hearing focused on Sillers’ character. A dozen witnesses--including Siller’s supervisors and his partner--testified that he led his division in felony arrests and “got the job done right.”

But the board’s chairman, Police Cmdr. James D. Jones, told Sillers that his particular style of leadership was not always appropriate. At last week’s hearing, Sillers said he chose “to go man-to-man” when resolving problems.

‘Your Style’ Doesn’t Work

“The board is here to tell you that it does not always work,” Jones said at the penalty hearing. “Your style of dealing with conflicts limits your alternatives as a police officer. It puts people in a position where they have to back down immediately or fight.”

Defense attorney Paul DePasquale said after the penalty was determined that he was happy with it, given the fact that the maximum authorized punishment was permanent removal from the force.

But DePasquale said he believed that if the man his client struck had not been a police officer, “there would have been no big stink about it.”