Man Pleads Guilty--but Gets $10,000

A Monterey Park man has pleaded guilty to a charge stemming from an assault of a Maywood police officer, but the man will collect $10,000 from the city for injuries suffered in the incident.

Arturo Guerrero de Leon, 31, filed a police-brutality claim against the city in January, alleging that he was beaten and kicked while in custody. Police claimed Guerrero provoked the incident, and charged him with assault of a police officer.

Guerrero’s lawyer, Gary B. Fleischman, said it is the first time he has heard of a city paying a claimant who admitted guilt in connection with assaulting an officer.

“It’s a bizarre story,” said Fleischman, who estimated that he has handled nearly 100 cases involving allegations of police brutality.

The attorney speculated that the city settled mostly to avoid expensive jury trials on both the claim of police brutality and the assault charge. Fleischman said the settlement was contingent upon Guerrero’s pleading guilty to a lesser count of disturbing the peace. Guerrero was fined $50 on that count, and also was fined another $300 after pleading guilty to drunk driving, Fleischman said. City Atty. Cary Reisman did not return repeated calls seeking comment.

Treated for Cuts

Maywood police arrested Guerrero in November, 1987, on suspicion of drunk driving. While in custody, Guerrero was treated for facial cuts at Los Angeles County Hospital after being struck by Officer John Hoglund, according to a police report.

An internal investigation by Maywood police concluded that Hoglund was justified in hitting Guerrero because he allegedly kicked the officer in the groin first. The district attorney subsequently charged Guerrero with one count of assaulting a police officer.

Meanwhile, Guerrero filed a $6,000 police-brutality claim against the city in January. The settlement is $4,000 more than Guerrero had requested, but Fleischman and City Administrator Leonard Locher said the initial figure in the claim was a mistake.

Maywood Police Chief Theodore R. Heidke said he protested the settlement because Hoglund had acted properly.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” Heidke said. “The settlement came about because a lot of times it is cheaper to settle a claim than to fight it.”

Accused of Brutality Second Time

Heidke also pointed out that Hoglund had been accused of police brutality in another incident two months after Guerrero’s arrest.

According to the police report of Guerrero’s arrest, Guerrero cursed Hoglund and was uncooperative while being booked. After locking Guerrero in a cell, Hoglund reported, Guerrero started banging the walls and yelling.

After Hoglund opened the cell door and threatened to subdue him with a weapon that delivers electric shocks, Guerrero kicked the officer in the groin and knocked the weapon away, the report said. Hoglund then struck Guerrero, who fell and cut his face on the metal part of a bunk, the report said. The incident was witnessed by another Maywood officer, who corroborated Hoglund’s version, according to records.

Fleischman said photographs of the cell indicate that it would have been impossible for Guerrero to have kicked Hoglund in the manner described in the police report. Heidke said the department stands by the report.

The legal agreement said the city is not admitting responsibility or liability. It prevents Guerrero from filing further action against the city in the case.

The city would have been less inclined to settle, Heidke said, if it were not for the other police-brutality claim filed against Hoglund.

David R. Kudick, 35, of Laguna Hills claims Hoglund struck him and dumped cold water on him after his arrest on suspicion of drunk driving. A Police Department internal investigation found that Hoglund mistreated Kudick, Heidke said.

The incident occurred after Kudick “verbally insulted” officers who were preparing paper work for his alcohol breath test, Heidke said. Kudick, whose $100,000 claim against the city is pending, did not require medical treatment after the incident.

After Kudick’s claim, the City Council demoted Hoglund from sergeant to officer and reduced his monthly salary by $250 to $2,846.

Fleischman said city officials agreed to settle with Guerrero because they knew Hoglund’s record would be hard to defend in court. “They were afraid of this case,” he said.

Hoglund, 42, has been a Maywood officer since January, 1976, and had completed half of a one-year probationary period for sergeants when demoted.