LAGUNA BEACH : City Cleared in Police Taping Case

A legal case by Police Department employees who said their personal conversations at work were taped has ended with an arbitrator ruling in the city’s favor.

The six employees alleged that their privacy and civil rights were violated in 1993 when their personal discussions were taped without their knowledge. They filed a lawsuit against the city earlier this year and agreed to accept an arbitrator’s decision, City Atty. Philip Kohn said.

Police officials said that the taping was caused by faulty telephone equipment, which has since been replaced. In a written decision that the city received Monday, arbitrator Maziar Mafi stated that the recording appeared to have been accidental and not in violation of the law.

The taping incident came to light about two years ago when some employees learned that their conversations, including comments about their supervisors, had been recorded. Some who were taped said they feared retribution because of their remarks, but city officials said none of those who were recorded were reprimanded.

Mafi’s decision also states that information gathered as a result of such recording cannot be used against any department employee. All but one of the employees involved still work for the city, Kohn said.

Phone conversations between police department employees and the public are commonly taped. The problem arose in this case because a glitch in the phone system caused the taping to continue after phones were hung up, Police Chief Neil J. Purcell Jr. said.

Police supervisors said the faulty telephones--in the records department and dispatch center--were installed in 1993 and were in use for about seven months before the problem was discovered.