Huntington Park Chief, Police Unit Investigated : Law enforcement: The department mounts an internal probe into misconduct allegations triggered by a sexual harassment claim.

The Huntington Park Police Department has launched an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct, targeting at least half a dozen officers, including retiring Police Chief Frank Sullivan and former members of an elite enforcement team, the city’s interim police chief said.

At least five officers will be investigated on charges that the interim chief, Bill Reed, categorized as “medium to serious” in nature. He refused to elaborate on the specifics of the charges.

Reed said the internal inquiry stems from allegations that emerged from a sexual harassment claim filed against the department earlier this year by Officer Gina Scolari.

More than a dozen officers and others have been questioned under oath by lawyers in the case, said Reed, who was hired by the City Council in May with a mandate to look into the charges.

Reed said the investigations will focus on members of the Crime Impact Team, an eight-man unit headed by Sullivan and created in 1990 to target drugs, gangs and other special assignments. Sullivan served as operations commander of the team, which was disbanded in 1992.

According to a deposition given in the sexual harassment case that spurred the investigation, and several officers who asked not to be identified, Crime Impact Team members engaged in misconduct and were “bulletproof” to repercussions.

In a deposition obtained by The Times, former Huntington Park Officer Radames Gil, now a detective with the Los Angeles Housing Authority Police Department, charges other officers with sexual misconduct, stealing evidence and covering up police brutality.

Gil left the Huntington Park Police Department in 1990 after being threatened with termination for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old girl, a charge that he denies. According to his sworn testimony, Gil asserts that he was forced out of the department because of his knowledge of alleged sexual misconduct by Sullivan and other Crime Impact Team members.

Sullivan did not return repeated phone calls from The Times.

Reed met with Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti on June 23 regarding a possible criminal investigation into some of the allegations, he said. The district attorney’s office would not confirm whether an investigation was under way.

Reed defended the Police Department, saying that a “clique that did some bad things” is not representative of the entire force. “The members of this department are hard-working people who for the most part do a great job,” Reed said. “There’s just a few people that need to be investigated and have the proper action taken.”

Scolari, who names Sullivan and Sgt. Robert Mercado in her claim, is negotiating a settlement with the city, sources close to the case said. Neither she nor her attorney returned calls for comment.

Mercado, who was a member of the Crime Impact Team and who was placed on administrative leave last month, vehemently denied all charges against him and the special unit.

“There was no misconduct among the CIT,” Mercado said. “People can allege anything they want and other people have to suffer for it.”

After less than two years as chief, Sullivan stepped down May 10 a day after the City Council placed him on administrative leave amid allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination and favoritism. But he is being allowed to collect his $7,714 monthly salary until he reaches retirement in November. Mercado also was placed on administrative leave.