Pilot Who Flew Over Reagan Home Says Deputy Injured Him

A pilot who said he unwittingly flew into restricted airspace over President Reagan’s home in Bel Air charged Thursday that he was roughed up and “tortured” by an Orange County sheriff’s deputy while being held for questioning about the incident.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that its officials detained the pilot, identified as Doug Davis, at the request of federal officials after he landed his light plane at John Wayne Airport about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. A Sheriff’s Department spokesman denied, however, that Davis, 43, of Rubidoux in Riverside County had been mistreated and said that the pilot failed to cooperate with officers.

A U.S. Secret Service official confirmed Thursday that Davis was detained for questioning but said that no charges have been filed against him in connection with the pass over the Reagans’ new home.

A Secret Service spokesman in Los Angeles said its agents determined that Davis “inadvertently flew into the restricted space.”

However, a Federal Aviation Administration official in Los Angeles said that the incident is under investigation.

Davis was ordered to land at John Wayne Airport on Wednesday afternoon after flying over the Reagan residence in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles.

Davis said his passenger was a San Bernardino photographer who was taking photos for aerial maps of the western Los Angeles area, including Bel Air. Davis said he had received no notice--known officially as Notice to Airmen--of the newly restricted airspace over the Reagan home.

The plane is a Cessna Skylane 182, a four-seater that had been converted to a two-seater to make room for camera equipment in the rear.

When he landed at John Wayne Airport, Davis said, he was held by Sheriff’s Department officials. Davis said that one of them, a deputy, handcuffed him for no apparent reason “and pushed my arms up behind my back until it was so painful I was screaming.” Davis said he had to receive emergency treatment at College Hospital Costa Mesa for torn muscles in his right shoulder.

“I don’t know why the deputy held my arms up that way unless it was just to torture me,” Davis said.

But Lt. Richard J. Olson, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman, denied that Davis had been mistreated.

Olson said the Secret Service in Los Angeles had called Orange County Sheriff’s Department officials and asked them to hold the pilot and passenger of the small plane, which had been ordered to land at John Wayne Airport. “We weren’t given details but just asked to detain the individuals who were in that plane,” Olson added.

Davis and his passenger were met at the airport by a deputy and two airport special officers, Olson said. The deputy tried to search Davis for concealed weapons before driving him to the main airport terminal, which Olson called a routine procedure. “Before putting someone in a vehicle, we always check them for possible weapons,” Olson said.

Olson said that Davis declined to cooperate and the unidentified deputy “had to put a wristlock on him, which is normal procedure.”

But Davis, who has been a pilot for about 20 years, said he did not make any derogatory comments to the deputy or try to resist orders.

Speaking Thursday from his home in Rubidoux, Davis said the deputy treated him roughly after “I asked him two questions: ‘Am I under arrest?’ and ‘Who are you?’ ”

Davis said the deputy replied that Davis was not under arrest and that he was a sheriff’s deputy. “After that, the deputy made me bend over the back of his car, and he told me to spread my legs apart, and he kicked my legs, saying, ‘Farther! Farther!’ But I couldn’t spread my legs any wider.”

Davis said his wrists were then handcuffed behind his back, and the deputy began pushing his arms upward “until I was crying and screaming.” Davis said the photographer who flew with him, Allen Cummings of San Bernardino, “wanted to come help me, but the other deputies wouldn’t let him.”

Four Secret Service agents arrived at John Wayne Airport shortly after he had been handcuffed, according to Davis.

“The Secret Service agents were very cordial,” he said, adding that they questioned him and checked his papers.

After hearing his explanation that he was unaware he had flown over a restricted area and had not received a notice about the new federal limits over the Bel Air property, the agents told him he would not be charged with a violation, Davis said.

“I managed to fly my plane back to Fla-Bob Airport near Riverside, but I’m having to wear a sling because of the pain in my right shoulder,” Davis said, adding that he would be contacting an attorney about the incident.

In August, 1987, Army Pvt. Ralph Myers flew into the restricted airspace over President Reagan’s ranch in Santa Barbara County and came within about 1,000 feet of a helicopter carrying the President. Myers was flying a rented plane from Vancouver, Wash., to John Wayne Airport.

The FAA subsequently revoked Myers’ pilot’s license, and last March 5, a federal judge in Los Angeles sentenced Myers to 60 days in prison for lying to investigators about the reason he violated the restricted airspace.

Myers originally had told investigators that he had lost a contact lens in flight and inadvertently flew into the restricted area. A day later, he said he was trying to avoid low clouds and had strayed into the area.