Besieged RTD Police Chief on Leave, May Not Return

The chief of the RTD’s police force, who is under investigation by the district attorney’s office, has gone on sick leave and may not return to his duties.

James Burgess, who became the Transit Police Department’s first chief in 1978, left Nov. 30 and will be eligible for retirement benefits in February.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Herb Lapin, who is overseeing an investigation of ticket canceling by Burgess, said Friday, “It’s our understanding he is not coming back.”

Last week, spokesmen for the Southern California Rapid Transit District at first said the same thing--that Burgess was not expected to return before he retired. But hours later, the district changed its statement, saying the chief was merely on sick leave and might return anytime. On Friday, RTD spokesmen Jim Smart said Burgess remains on sick leave and the district does not know if or when he will return.

Burgess, who earns $67,000 a year, has refused to comment on his plans or employment status.

One transit police source said Burgess last month told some officers he was leaving the department effective Dec. 1 and “cleared out” his office of personal items. “Everyone saw him packing,” the source said. “He had quite a few boxes of things.”

This week, RTD General Manager Alan Pegg formally named an acting police chief, Lt. Ernest Munoz, and, one source said, Munoz moved into Burgess’ office.

Burgess came under fire earlier this year because of allegations made to RTD board members by a former transit police officer, Nicholas Granados. Granados said Burgess had improperly nullified parking tickets, hired his daughter, stayed at the Palm Springs condominium of an RTD contractor and discriminated against Latinos in promotions.

Burgess has denied doing anything improper and said the charges came from an employee who was unhappy over failing to get a promotion.

But the chief was placed on administrative leave in June by Pegg, pending the outcome of an investigation by the RTD inspector general. He was reinstated in August, but transit officials declined to give details of what the investigation found, saying it was a personnel matter.

Burgess was reprimanded, his attorney said at the time, for being a guest at the Palm Springs condominium of Doug Robinson, owner of Lincoln Security Services in Santa Fe Springs. The firm had a contract with the RTD that Burgess oversaw. Burgess denied a conflict of interest, saying he and Robinson had been longtime friends and shared expenses, although Burgess acknowledged that he had not paid for the accommodations.

RTD policies prohibit managers from accepting gifts from contractors.

Burgess also admitted ordering dozens of parking tickets retrieved from cars at the El Monte bus terminal and canceled last December. He said he acted after receiving a complaint from an RTD secretary who car-pooled with the assistant police chief but denied that his actions were intended to benefit a friend.

He said he was merely trying to correct the overzealous ticket-writing of an officer, who acted against his orders.

The district attorney’s office is investigating the incident to determine if Burgess violated a 1987 anti-ticket fixing law. State law makes it a misdemeanor for any police official to nullify a parking ticket once it is written and placed on a car windshield. Lapin said that investigation should be completed next week.

Burgess also acknowledged that he had encouraged his daughter to apply for a job in his department and had signed papers to hire her. But he defended his action, saying the police chief’s position is not covered by the district’s anti-nepotism policy, which prohibits close relatives of top executives and RTD board members from being hired by the district.