Gates Reprimands Aide for Using LAPD Files for Political Research

Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates said Wednesday that he has reprimanded his second-in-command, Assistant Chief Robert L. Vernon, for using a Police Department computer to research the backround of a political candidate in Pasadena.

Vernon, Gates said, intended to give to his Pasadena neighbors a computerized printout of newspaper stories and other publicly available documents relating to Michael Zinzun, a former Black Panther who is running for Pasadena’s Board of City Directors.

At Vernon’s request, the Police Department’s Anti-Terrorist Division last week printed out 50 documents--156 pages in all--and gave them to Vernon. However, LAPD officials alerted Gates, who intervened before Vernon could pass on the data, according to the chief.

‘Judgment Was Poor’

“While his motives were pure, his judgment was poor,” Gates said of Vernon, a 34-year department veteran who has been considered a leading candidate to eventually become chief.

The rebuke comes at a time when Gates’ interest in politics has stirred speculation on who might succeed him as chief, and department sources said the Zinzun matter would not help Vernon’s chances.

Gates said he intends to ask that Vernon, 55, repay the Police Department for having printed out the articles on Zinzun. The bill is expected to be more than $300.

Zinzun played a central role in the dismantling of the LAPD’s Public Disorder Intelligence Division (PDID), the forerunner of the Anti-Terrorist Division. The PDID came under fire for illegally spying on lawful citizens, and Zinzun was a plaintiff in a civil action against the unit.

On Wednesday, Zinzun condemned Vernon’s action as “obvious misuse of taxpayer funds.”

Gates said he intends to discuss the matter with the Los Angeles Police Commission, the civilian board that oversees the department.

“The system worked in this case,” Gates said. “I verbally reprimanded Bob (Vernon) and we’ll look at whether we’ll formalize that. We have returned the stuff that was printed out to the files.”

Gates said he did not know why Vernon’s neighbors wanted the information on Zinzun.

Vernon did not respond Wednesday to telephone messages left by The Times.

A devout Christian and a lay minister in a fundamentalist church, Vernon in 1987 was accused by some in the Police Department of giving promotional preference to fellow Christians. He strongly denied those allegations.

Police Regulations

Los Angeles police regulations expressly forbid department personnel from using police resources for other than official purposes.

The department’s manual states: “All official files, documents, records and information held by the department . . . shall be regarded as confidential. Employees shall not disclose or permit the disclosure of . . . information except as required in the performance of their official duties.”

Zinzun’s Los Angeles-based organization, the Coalition Against Police Abuse, was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. The suit alleged that the PDID unit had spied illegally and kept files on hundreds of citizens. Some of those files had been removed by a PDID detective who was channeling the data to an ultra-right-wing organization.

In 1983, the city settled the ACLU lawsuit for $1.8 million and PDID was disbanded. In its place, the 45-member Anti-Terrorist Division was formed. Strict guidelines limiting access to the division’s files were established at that time.

The unit, according to its desciption in the department manual, is responsible for collecting and analyzing information on “individuals and organizations which plan, perform, threaten, or attempt unlawful acts which can reasonably be expected to result in death, serious bodily injury, significant disruption to the public order, or significant property damage. . . . “

Called ‘Outrageous’

On Wednesday, Paul Hoffman, an ACLU attorney who helped prepare those guidelines, called Vernon’s use of department resources for personal reasons an “outrageous” violation of accceptable police conduct.

“One of the concerns I have is if he would so something that stupid just for his neighbors, what kind of information would he dig up for somebody with some real political clout,” Hoffman said.

Zinzun, 40, is one of three candidates for a seat on the seven-member Pasadena Board of City Directors. His opponents are grocery store manager Gretchen Sterling and real estate broker Chris Holden, the son of Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden.

The elder Holden, a candidate for mayor of Los Angeles and a strong ally of the Police Department, said Wednesday that he had no knowledge of Vernon’s attempt to secure information about Zinzun.

The younger Holden did not return telephone calls from The Times.

Demands Apology

“This is how the PDID affair began,” Zinzun said, “first one little thing, then another.” He demanded a public apology from the LAPD, and called for expansion of the unit’s guidelines “to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Zinzun also called on the Police Commission to investigate whether Vernon or any other LAPD officers have used police records for similiar purposes.

The response from Commission Chariman Robert M. Talcott was noncommittal:

“We will be receiving a full and complete briefing on the subject matter (in closed session) at next Tuesday’s meeting and review the materials at issue,” Talcott said. “At that point, we will make a decision as to how the commission might proceed.”

Agrees to Settlement

Zinzun, who has been defeated soundly twice before in seeking election to Pasadena’s board, was in the news a year ago when he agreed to a $1.2-million out-of-court settlement with Pasadena police.

Zinzun had alleged that he was beaten and falsely arrested in a June, 1986, fracas at the Community Arms low-income housing complex in northwestern Pasadena. During the scuffle, Zinzun was struck in the face, allegedly by a police flashlight, and lost the sight in his left eye.

He is seeking to represent a district that is adjacent to the one in which Vernon lives.