VENTURA : Prosecutor Responds to Lungren Criticism

Responding to a rebuke by state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren, Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury defended his investigation of an ill-fated drug raid by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and faulted Lungren for allowing himself to be “drawn into a media war.”

The comments came in a letter Bradbury sent to the attorney general on Wednesday and released to the media.

The letter contained Bradbury’s first extensive response to a letter by Lungren that criticized Bradbury’s March report on the death of Donald P. Scott.

Lungren’s letter, written Nov. 8 and released Monday, chastised Bradbury’s report for “inappropriate and gratuitous comments,” such as Bradbury’s assertion that the search warrant issued before the drug raid became Scott’s death warrant.

In his response, Bradbury said Lungren’s rebuke would not cause him to re-examine his findings. Bradbury’s report concluded that Sheriff’s Deputy Gary Spencer shot the gun-wielding rancher in self-defense, but also found that the deputy should not have been on the property in the first place.

In the letter, Bradbury repeated his assertion that the raid was motivated by a desire to seize Scott’s $5-million ranch under drug forfeiture laws.

“I am saddened because you have allowed your office to be drawn into a media war being waged by the Los Angeles sheriff concerning this matter,” Bradbury said. “I am disappointed because your comments diminish the high standards which I believe the public expects and demands of law enforcement officials.

“Until now, I have steadfastly tried to avoid being dragged into the unseemly and unprofessional media campaign being pressed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” the letter continues.

“Unfortunately, with your involvement, I must now publicly respond so there is no misunderstanding about my investigative findings in the Scott case.”

Lungren could not be reached for comment.