Traffic Officer Faces Excessive-Force Charge

A Los Angeles police officer assigned to the Valley Traffic Division has been charged with one count of battery, a misdemeanor criminal charge, for alleged excessive force against a pedestrian he was citing for jaywalking in Canoga Park, authorities said Tuesday.

Officer Clark W. Baker, 34, is scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles Municipal Court on March 3, Deputy City Atty. Alice Hand said.

Baker, who also faces three departmental charges in connection with the July 19 incident, has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of an administrative hearing, a police spokesman said.

Baker, an 11-year veteran, is accused of using unnecessary force against 22-year-old Thomas Chavez after he stopped him crossing Roscoe Boulevard near Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

Hand said four witnesses have corroborated Chavez’s claim that when he refused to sign a jaywalking citation, Baker slapped a package of gum out of his hand, twisted his wrists behind his back, forced him to the ground and kicked him.

Hand said Chavez did not want to sign the citation because he feared that his signature would mean conviction and he lacked the money to pay the fine.

If convicted, Baker would face a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $2,000 fine, Hand said.