Officer Planted Drugs on Arrestee, Police Say

A Los Angeles police officer is under investigation for allegedly planting drugs on a suspect during an Internal Affairs sting operation in the San Fernando Valley, authorities said Monday.

Cmdr. William Booth declined to identify the officer, who has been assigned desk duties in the Devonshire Division while the misconduct probe is under way.

“The officer has not been arrested,” Booth said. “We have high hopes” that the case soon will be presented to the district attorney, he said.

Booth said the department took the unusual step of revealing the investigation before any arrest has been made in an effort to quell rumors that several Devonshire Division officers were under investigation.

“There is only one officer involved,” Booth said. “On at least one occasion the officer was accused of planting a small amount of contraband on a suspect and would arrest him for being in possession.”

The planting of the drug, cocaine, occurred during a sting operation, Booth said. The suspect actually was an undercover police officer, he said.

Booth said the operation began after the department received information from an undisclosed source.

In a previously announced internal sting operation, a Valley-based narcotics officer was arrested Aug. 10 and charged with five counts of embezzling money taken from suspects during drug arrests.

Kendall Lee Walker, 30, a five-year veteran, resigned after his arrest. He has pleaded not guilty to charges he took $270.