LOS ANGELES : NAACP Protests Handling of Jackson Investigation

In a letter to Police Chief Willie L. Williams and Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, a representative of the Los Angeles NAACP complained Friday that authorities are mishandling their investigation into allegations that Michael Jackson molested a 13-year-old boy.

“What is the agenda . . . of your investigation team?” asked the letter by Leo James Terrell, legal redress counsel for the local NAACP chapter. “Why are some facts of the investigation being ‘leaked’ and others not? Is this investigation being carried out in an ethical manner?”

Terrell said in an interview that the NAACP has been told that police are not respecting the rights of children whom they interview as part of their investigation. His comments echo concerns raised by Jackson’s lawyers. Howard Weitzman, Jackson’s criminal attorney, has alleged that investigators are falsely depicting evidence in their possession and are leaking information in an effort to destroy Jackson’s career.

Also Friday, investigators attempting to determine whether Jackson has changed his physical appearance in recent weeks served search warrants at the offices of two local doctors. Records were seized from the doctors--a Santa Monica plastic surgeon and a Beverly Hills dermatologist--and at least one of them was questioned extensively.