Asst. Chief Testifies in Activist’s Suit

Assistant Los Angeles Police Chief Robert Vernon testified in a lawsuit Tuesday that he was unaware his use of a department computer to obtain information about a political activist during a 1989 Pasadena city election violated LAPD guidelines.

Vernon, the department’s second-in-command, told a Superior Court jury that he retrieved only newspaper and wire service articles on political activist Michael Zinzun from a private computer service in Anti-Terrorist Division which is leased by the department. The Lexis/Nexis service operated by Mead Data Central of Dayton, Ohio, specializes in providing electronic versions of newspaper articles and legal documents.

“I did not believe at the time that these guidelines applied to Lexis/Nexis,” said Vernon. “There is no doubt in my mind about that issue.”

Dan Stormer, Zinzun’s attorney, said the way the material was obtained and released gave the impression that Zinzun had a file in the department’s Anti-Terrorist Division, painting Zinzun as a terrorist.

Earlier Zinzun testified that Vernon’s actions devastated his 1989 campaign for Board of Directors of Pasadena, a position similar to a city council seat. He said Vernon’s actions, which became a campaign issue, humiliated him and may have put his family in jeopardy, because he received several threatening phone calls.

There has been no testimony about why Vernon gathered the material about Zinzun. Vernon said he was acting only as a 26-year resident of the city when he passed the material on to a Pasadena city official.

The city of Los Angeles claims that any damage to Zinzun was caused by the newspaper articles which misrepresented the files in the Anti-Terrorist Division and did not make clear Vernon only obtained news stories.

“I believed at the time I thought it was good judgment, but because of the miscommunication of the newspapers, if I had it to do over again, I would not do it,” Vernon told the jury.

Vernon testified that he received a verbal reprimand for his actions from Police Chief Daryl F. Gates and reimbursed the city for the use of the computer time.

The case went to trial after the Los Angeles City Council rejected a proposed settlement offer of $450,000 which had the backing of the city attorney’s office.

Vernon testified on Monday and Tuesday for about an hour before Stormer rested his case. Vernon is expected to return to the stand today when the city presents its side.