Board Advises Dismissal of Officer Involved in Brawl

A Los Angeles police board has recommended the firing of a patrol sergeant who was involved in a bar brawl in Burbank last year during which he and several other off-duty officers fought with patrons and employees, authorities said today.

A six-day Board of Rights hearing ended Thursday with Sgt. Christopher Bonilla, 32, being found guilty of three counts of misconduct, Cmdr. William Booth said. The board recommended to Chief Daryl F. Gates that Bonilla be fired.

A Board of Rights hearing is similar to a court trial but is presided over by a panel of three high-ranking police officers. Gates is expected to act on the recommendation next week.

The disciplinary action stems from a fight that broke out May 10, 1989, in the bar of the Black Angus restaurant at 235 S. 1st St.

Burbank police said the brawl started after a patron, Robert Martinez, 29, of Burbank, walked by a table where six off-duty officers were sitting and knocked over a bottle of beer. A shouting match followed, and the officers began fighting with Martinez. Police said two cocktail waitresses, two bouncers and a bartender joined in.

During the fight, Martinez was allegedly dragged outside by the officers and kicked while on the ground, police said.

Three of the officers, Bonilla, Oscar Jiminez and Arthur Placentia, later pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace in February and were fined $470 each. Bonilla, who was originally charged with battery, was also placed on three years probation.

Martinez was originally charged with assault, but the charge was dropped because prosecutors believed that he could prove he acted in self-defense. None of the bar employees were charged with any crime.

The five officers who were with Bonilla were disciplined by the Los Angeles police, but the department declined to reveal what actions were taken because they did not involve Board of Rights hearings, reserved for the most serious departmental charges. All of the officers involved in the fight are assigned to the Wilshire Division.

Bonilla, who was relieved of duty without pay, was charged with three counts of misconduct because an internal affairs investigation found that he had been drinking and made threats during the incident, and had kicked Martinez while he was lying in the parking lot outside the restaurant.