Vernon Is Harmed Enough, Jury Told

Declaring that Los Angeles Assistant Police Chief Robert Vernon’s reputation has already been irreparably sullied, a deputy city attorney on Monday urged a jury not to assess punitive damages against Vernon in a defamation and civil rights lawsuit brought by political activist Michael Zinzun.

Last Friday, the jury awarded Zinzun $3.83 million in compensatory damages from the city of Los Angeles. The panel concluded that Vernon had maligned the former Black Panther Party leader by using a Los Angeles Police Department computer to obtain and spread information on Zinzun, who was campaigning for elective office in Pasadena. Zinzun eventually lost to Chris Holden, the son of Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden.

After deliberating less than two hours late Monday afternoon, the jurors informed Judge Michael Berg that they were deadlocked on whether to impose punitive damages, which would be assessed against Vernon personally. Such penalties are intended to serve as a deterrent against similar future conduct.

But when questioned by Berg, several jurors said there was still a possibility a verdict could be reached with further deliberations. The judge ordered the jury to resume deliberating this morning.

Deputy City Atty. Mary House argued Monday that Vernon, one of the Police Department’s top executives, has already been punished enough as a result of the three-week trial.

“A man’s name means nothing if it is maligned,” House told jurors. “The punishment to Chief Vernon’s name is severe. . . . Do you think that he will have the trust of anyone based on what has occurred?”

But Zinzun’s lawyer, Dan Stormer, countered that Vernon should be punished financially “for a lack of honesty and a lack of contrition.”

“He is in charge of all 18 police stations and how they enforce the law,” Stormer said. “. . . You must make an example of him and you must punish him.”

During the trial, Stormer claimed that Vernon leaked documents about Zinzun from a computer in the department’s anti-terrorist division. House countered that Vernon simply retrieved public information supplied by a private computer service that specializes in providing electronic versions of news articles and legal documents.

On Monday morning, Berg denied a motion by the city attorney’s office to dismiss the personal punitive claim against Vernon. But Berg added that he would consider changing his mind after the jury concludes its deliberations.