INGLEWOOD : Police and Official At Odds Over Conduct

Two police officers, a city councilwoman and a reporter are involved in a dispute over the arrest of a reputed gang member.

Councilwoman Judy Dunlap and a local reporter claim a report written by the officers is wrong and accuses Dunlap and the reporter of inciting gang members at the scene of an arrest.

Los Angeles Sentinel reporter Dennis C. Schatzman on Monday filed a complaint with the district attorney’s office, claiming that Officers Kerry Tripp and David Salcedo filed false information about Schatzman and Dunlap in the officers’ report.

Schatzman’s complaint will go to the district attorney’s Special Investigations Division, said spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. The division, responsible for investigations of public officials, will determine if further inquiry is warranted, Gibbons said.

The dispute stems from the April 5 arrest of Demetrius Smith on suspicion of violating his probation. Dunlap, who was touring her district with Schatzman, said she stopped to ask police why Smith, handcuffed and sitting on a curb, was being arrested. Smith is a member of Dunlap’s church and lives in her district.

The councilwoman and reporter say Dunlap politely identified herself, inquired about the arrest and requested that they send a copy of the arrest report to her the next day.

In a report to the City Council last week, Police Chief Oliver Thompson said the officers described Dunlap as aggressive and demanding. The officers reported that Dunlap’s actions could have incited nearby gang members, jeopardizing the officers’ safety.

The debate has sparked a protest at the last two City Council meetings.

About 60 of Dunlap’s fellow church members attended the meeting Tuesday to show support for the councilwoman and express dissatisfaction with the other city officials.

“We’ll be back every Tuesday until we get what we want,” said the Rev. M.M. Merriweather, Dunlap’s pastor at New Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in Inglewood.