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Long Beach : Ex-Police Officer’s Trial to Begin Friday

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Trial is scheduled to begin Friday for a former Long Beach police officer accused of shooting a motorist in Fountain Valley during a traffic dispute.

Alan B. Ice, 45, of Fountain Valley has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of assault with a firearm and discharging a firearm at an occupied vehicle. Ice, who was arraigned last week in Superior Court in Santa Ana, could face a 10-year prison term if convicted. Ice is free on his own recognizance.

Ice is accused of wounding Neil Cramer, 36, a Santa Ana carpenter, on Sept. 28, 1991, after a confrontation. Cramer, who was accompanied in his truck by his fiancee and his 11-year-old daughter, said the incident began when he swerved to avoid a fallen cyclist. At a traffic light, he said, he and Ice exchanged words.

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Ice has maintained that at the light, he saw Cramer reaching for something. Fearing for his own safety, Ice pulled out his 9-millimeter handgun, which discharged accidentally as he tried to leave the scene, he said. The bullet struck Cramer’s shoulder, collapsing a lung and lodging near his heart. He was released from the hospital several days later.

In November, Ice, a 21-year veteran of the force, was fired by the Long Beach Police Department for firing his weapon “intentionally and without justification.”

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