PANORAMA CITY : Officer Gets Year, 1 Day in Beating of Teen-Ager
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A Los Angeles police officer was sentenced Monday to a year and a day in prison for violating the civil rights of a Panorama City teen-ager whose skull was fractured when he was beaten by the officer six years ago.
In sentencing Dana Patrick Hansen, who was convicted by a jury of two misdemeanor civil rights violations, U.S. District Judge Edward Rafeedie said the officer had lied on the stand and offered a “contrived and fraudulent” defense.
Rafeedie also sharply criticized what he called a pattern of police officers attempting to “cover up” incidents of excessive force by falsely arresting the victims.
Hansen was convicted March 9 of using excessive force when he beat 16-year-old Jesus Martinez Vidales and falsely arrested him for assault on a police officer. The incident occurred on Aug. 26, 1986, in the 1400 block of Blythe Street, a high-crime area where Hansen and his partner were investigating whether a car might have been stolen.
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