LAGUNA BEACH : City Wins Ruling Over Fired Officer

An Orange County Superior Court commissioner has ruled that the city of Laguna Beach was within its rights to fire a police officer after he was videotaped kicking at a man struggling on a sidewalk with two other officers.

Commissioner Eleanor M. Palk said last Friday that the evidence in the case supported the city’s right to fire former officer Keith R. Knotek, 26, and upheld the city Personnel Board’s decision to deny Knotek’s appeal for his job back. Knotek will appeal Palk’s decision to the state Court of Appeal, a spokeswoman for the officer’s attorney said Thursday.

An appeal will be difficult for Knotek to win, since he will have to show that Palk made a legal error in making her decision, City Atty. Philip D. Kohn said. Palk’s ruling also makes it difficult for Knotek to work as a police officer elsewhere since it could be used against him if he were ever again accused of brutality, Kohn said.

Knotek did not attend last week’s hearing and could not be reached for comment. He has moved to Northern California to seek another job as a police officer, said the spokeswoman for his attorney, Tom Perez. Perez did not return phone calls Thursday.

Knotek filed the lawsuit in September, trying to force the city to rehire him and give him back pay and benefits after being fired in May. He exhausted his appeals with the city in August when the Personnel Board unanimously upheld Police Chief Neil J. Purcell Jr.’s decision to fire Knotek.

Knotek’s lawsuit argued that he was acting within the scope of his duties and training when he kicked Kevin A. Dunbar on a South Laguna sidewalk in June, 1990. A nearby resident recorded the kicking on a home video camera.

Dunbar was arrested outside a party after Knotek discovered several warrants for his arrest for failing to appear in court for drinking in public and other related charges. Knotek said the two officers trying to handcuff Dunbar were having trouble controlling him and were being punched in the legs, so he stepped forward and kicked the man in the upper arms.

According to testimony at the Personnel Board hearing, two kicks struck Dunbar and one nearly hit one of the other officers in the face.

Dunbar sued the city over the kicking incident and eventually settled out of court for $100,000. The district attorney’s office and the Orange County Grand Jury investigated the kicking incident and found insufficient evidence to press charges against Knotek.