Release of Police File Is Blocked

A federal magistrate Friday prohibited lawyers from publicly releasing internal police documents about a massive drug raid last summer that caused the destruction of four apartments, prompting allegations of police brutality that led to criminal and disciplinary actions against scores of Los Angeles police.

Magistrate Joseph Reichmann agreed with a lawyer for the city that release of the documents to the news media at this point in the federal lawsuit would jeopardize the privacy of the officers involved. He indicated, however, that he is inclined to reverse his order at the end of the trial, which is expected to begin sometime next year.

Reichmann’s ruling will not affect a subpoena issued last month requiring that the interviews of police officers and other material from the investigation be made available to a federal grand jury that is probing possible civil rights violations by police.

John Burton, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Reichmann’s order does not harm his case but rather infringes on the public’s “need to be informed about how much out of control police are in Los Angeles.” Burton, along with other attorneys, represents 29 plaintiffs who either lived in the damaged apartments or who were arrested during the raid.

“We feel very strongly that the public needs to be educated,” said Burton. “That’s just as much a part of our mission as getting money damages for our clients.”

Deputy City Atty. David Hotchkiss, however, said the ruling is consistent with a state law requiring secrecy in matters involving police personnel actions.

“The entire internal affairs investigation is privileged under California law,” Hotchkiss said. “That’s not specifically binding on the federal courts. But in this case the court balanced the professed needs of the plaintiffs to disseminate information . . . to the media against the officers’ statutory rights.”

The lawsuit Reichmann ruled on is one of four filed against the city, Los Angeles Police Department officials and the 88 police officers who took part in the Aug. 1, 1988, raid in two apartment buildings near the intersection of 39th Street and Dalton Avenue just west of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

The suit contends that the officers methodically tore apart the dwellings and their contents, spray-painted graffiti such as “LAPD Rules” on walls and arrested scores of innocent people, some of whom were brutalized.