Saw No Wrongdoing by Narcotics Officers, LAPD Detective Testifies

A Los Angeles Police Department detective, who worked with six narcotics officers on trial for alleged civil rights violations, testified Wednesday that he never witnessed any misconduct by members of an anti-drug team accused of beating drug dealers and planting narcotics on suspects.

Detective Ronald B. Michel, who was called as a prosecution witness, denied assertions by federal attorneys that the officers had engaged in wrongdoing while working on an anti-drug team in Southwest Los Angeles.

The six officers on trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles are accused of falsifying search warrants and police reports, stealing cash and property during drug raids, beating drug dealers and planting narcotics on drug suspects.

Michel, who worked on the anti-drug team in 1987, has not been indicted or charged with any crime, but he told jurors that he remains under criminal investigation. Michel was subpoenaed by prosecutors, but he testified that he never saw any misconduct while working with the five sheriff’s deputies and one LAPD officer now on trial--a stance that was immediately challenged by prosecutors.

“Is it accurate to say you don’t want to say anything that will incriminate the defendants?” asked Assistant U.S. Atty. Thomas Bienert.

“I’m here to tell you the truth,” Michel replied.

An 18-year LAPD veteran, Michel was the second officer on the team to take the stand. Former Sheriff’s Sgt. Robert R. Sobel has accused his former subordinates of misconduct and said Michel was aware of such wrongdoing.