Officer Fired in Laguna Beach Kicking Probe

A police officer cleared of criminal conduct earlier this month for allegedly kicking a man during an arrest captured on videotape last summer was fired Thursday for using excessive force.

Police Chief Neil J. Purcell said he fired Officer Keith R. Knotek at a noon meeting Thursday based on an internal police investigation finding that Knotek violated departmental policies on the use of force.

In a videotape shot last June by a South Laguna resident, Knotek was seen kicking at a man lying on a sidewalk near Coast Highway and surrounded by other officers. Although Knotek can be seen kicking at least three times, the man on the sidewalk is obscured behind a police car.

The man, Kevin A. Dunbar, 25, filed a $10-million claim and later a federal lawsuit against the city and the officers.

The Orange County district attorney’s office and the Orange County Grand Jury concluded earlier this month that there was insufficient evidence to prove Knotek illegally kicked Dunbar, who was allegedly drunk when he was arrested outside a rowdy party.

Purcell placed Knotek on paid suspension last month. The officer had been assigned to desk duty for about four months before the suspension.

“Keith is a fine young man,” Purcell said. “It’s a very unfortunate situation that has occurred here. But as the chief, it was something I had to do.”

Knotek, 26, had been on notice since May 15 that Purcell intended to fire him, but the law required the chief to give him time to present arguments against the decision.

After reviewing Knotek’s written response and the internal report of the arrest, Purcell said: “I decided it’s appropriate for me to proceed with my proposed action to terminate the officer. . . . I feel that the use of the foot as a force option under these attendant circumstances as shown on the tape that was on television was inappropriate.”

Knotek has seven days to request an appeals hearing before the city’s three-member personnel Board. Neither Knotek nor his attorney, Gregory G. Petersen, could be reached Thursday for comment. Petersen said Wednesday that Knotek would appeal if fired.

Knotek does not deny that he kicked Dunbar during the arrest, Petersen has said. But the kicking was reasonable force necessary to place the combative man under arrest, he said.

Two of the other officers who helped arrest Dunbar have countersued, saying Dunbar fought and injured them during the arrest.