ANAHEIM : Activist Seeks Release of Police Documents

Saying the city’s Police Department is in danger of becoming “Fuhrmanized,” the chairman of Los Amigos of Orange County on Tuesday demanded that the City Council release documents that he said prove two incidents of police brutality against Latino youths.

The first incident involved the arrest of a 16-year-old in 1991 on suspicion of burglary, and the second the arrest of another teen-ager in 1992 during a police crackdown on gangs in the Jeffrey-Lynne neighborhood. In both cases, a former Anaheim police officer alleges, the teen-agers were handcuffed and beaten by officers.

Amin David of Los Amigos contends that a Police Department investigation that found no wrongdoing was botched and that a “code of silence” among officers has ensued.

Two incidents were reported to then-Police Chief Joseph T. Malloy by Officer Steve Nolan, who was later fired on unrelated matters but ordered reinstated by an arbitrator.

He is suing the department, claiming that his firing was retaliation for reporting brutality.

David said the transcripts from Nolan’s arbitration hearings in 1994 include details about the incidents he reported, which have not been made public.

City Atty. Jack L. White said at the meeting Tuesday the transcripts would be made available to Nolan and his attorneys to share with the public if they choose.