CANOGA PARK : Convicted Officer to Again Carry Gun
A Los Angeles police officer convicted of battery for slapping and kicking a handcuffed jaywalker in Canoga Park has been permitted to carry a gun again on the job, an attorney for the officer said Friday.
On Feb. 4, a Los Angeles Municipal Court jury convicted Officer Clark W. Baker, a 12-year-department veteran and ex-Marine assigned to the Valley Traffic Division, of slapping and kicking Tomas Chavez, a 21-year-old Salvadoran immigrant, while citing him in July, 1991.
Judge Veronica Simmons McBeth had sentenced Baker in February to 350 hours of community service and ordered him not to carry a gun on the job. The judge granted the modification to Baker’s probation Friday because the officer subsequently completed the community service work and has attended counseling, said Bob Wilson, Baker’s attorney.
Last year, after department officials had reviewed the incident, Baker agreed to undergo “anger counseling.” An internal police review board found him innocent of wrongdoing.
Baker had been reassigned to a desk position, but will now return to patrol, Wilson said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
