Laguna Beach Officer Seeks Review of Police Chief’s Order Firing Him

LAGUNA BEACH — A police officer who was fired for allegedly kicking a man during an arrest captured on videotape filed an appeal with the city on Friday.

Officer Keith R. Knotek, 26, asked the city’s Personnel Board to review Chief Neil J. Purcell’s decision Thursday to fire him, City Atty. Philip D. Kohn said. A date for the hearing will probably be set next week, Kohn said.

The three-member Personnel Board, appointed by the City Council, would hear testimony on Knotek’s conduct during the arrest.

Purcell said he fired Knotek for kicking Kevin A. Dunbar during an arrest last June in South Laguna. Police had questioned Dunbar outside a rowdy party and discovered he had outstanding warrants on misdemeanor charges of being drunk in public and for theft.

The videotape and an internal investigation led Purcell to believe Knotek kicked Dunbar twice in the upper body, he has said. The kicking was not needed to control Dunbar or to make the arrest, Purcell said.

The Orange County district attorney and grand jury investigated Knotek’s actions earlier this month and determined that not enough evidence existed to prove the officer used unreasonable force in controlling the struggling Dunbar. Knotek’s attorney has said the kicking was both reasonable and an approved use of force in the department.

Dunbar has filed a lawsuit against the city and the officers over the alleged kicking.