Police Group Seeks Probe of Actions by City Official

An inquiry that began with two police officers accused of drinking on duty has mushroomed into a City Hall controversy amid allegations that Mayor John W. Hedges may have improperly influenced the independent board reviewing the cases.

Members of a police employee association have asked their attorney to investigate whether a city official--identified by several sources as Hedges--tainted the impartial review process when he contacted the city’s Civil Service Board after the board overturned the department’s discipline of one officer.

The department’s covert investigation of the drinking incident and ensuing flap has injected new tensions into a department trying to rebuild morale following the 1993 ouster of the former chief amid a sexual harassment scandal.

The two officers were disciplined after an internal investigation revealed they were at a bar before their shifts ended. Both appealed to the Civil Service Board, which found in favor of one officer and is scheduled to hear the second appeal April 9.

Hedges declined to comment on the nature of his contact with board members. “Because attorneys are involved and because there are personnel matters involved, I’ve been advised to refer questions to [City Atty. Robert] Burnham,” Hedges said.

Sources said that Hedges, upset that the board sided with the first officer, contacted members of the citizen panel and criticized their decision. Officials with the Newport Beach Police Management Assn.--which represents the interests of the department’s 31 command-level officers--said they have instructed their attorney to investigate the matter. One of the disciplined officers was a sergeant, department sources said, which would put him among the association’s membership.

“Our concern is if a [Civil Service Board] member was improperly contacted and, if that contact was intended to intimidate them, if it could be criminal,” said Sgt. Steve Van Horn, a board member with the association.

Under state law, it is illegal to tamper with impartial panels, such as juries and arbitrators. Los Angeles attorney Jeffrey Freedman, who has represented the Newport Beach Civil Service Board for 15 years, said his research into such laws indicated they probably do not fit this case.

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“It isn’t clear to me that [those laws] apply to this kind of board,” Freedman said. “There may be some other law that does apply. If there isn’t, there ought to be.”

The Police Management Assn. president, Sgt. Fred Heinecke, said the civil service appeal process assures employees a fair and impartial review of their discipline issues, and maintaining that unbiased forum is vital.

“The Civil Service Board is the place that is supposed to be immune from politics,” Heinecke said. “They’re supposed to base their decisions on their own judgments.”

The pending hearing for the second officer is the “big concern,” Van Horn said. Van Horn declined to elaborate further on the nature of the contact and would not even confirm that the mayor was involved.

“I don’t know all the facts so I don’t feel comfortable saying what happened,” he said.

Police Chief Robert J. McDonell also would not discuss the mayor’s involvement, but said it is not unusual for city officials to meet with members of the civil service commission following disciplinary hearings for feedback on the case presentation and its deciding factors. He compared it to “an attorney polling a jury” after a trial verdict.

“In this case, though, there have been some people who have expressed some anxiety about some contact made, apparently,” McDonell said.

City Atty. Burnham said he will meet with an attorney representing the police association to review the situation to see if any contacts made warrant the seven-member panel being recused for the second officer’s hearing.

“It’s very important that the board is independent and objective,” Burnham said.

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Dana Pettit was one of the Civil Service Board members reportedly contacted, sources said. Pettit declined comment on the hearings and any contact she may have had with the mayor or other city officials.

“This is a foolish thing for [a newspaper] to write about,” she said.

Other board members contacted for this story declined comment.

Some officers contend the handling of the case against the two officers has ratcheted up feelings of unease, but McDonell said the department was obligated to pursue any allegations of officers acting improperly.

“It’s our responsibility to look into it, to hold our people accountable,” McDonell said. He added that despite any hard feelings generated by the investigation or recent contentious contract negotiations, the department is “a lot healthier” than it has been in recent years.

Burnham said the department is still grappling with the fallout created by the ouster of former Chief Arb Campbell and his top deputy, Capt. Anthony Villa. Ten former female employees filed suit against Campbell and Villa, alleging sexual improprieties.

“The department went through a fairly difficult period,” Burnham said. “I think that there is still some things shaking out from that in the department.

“That’s just my sense. Too many memories, too many people with the perception of being harmed or offended.”