Injured Officer Presses for His Job

Co-workers, union officials and community leaders on Monday came to the support of a Los Angeles police officer who says he may be fired because he lost an eye during an on-duty gunfight last December.

“He laid his life on the line to protect where I live,” said Mary Naulls, a community activist who lives near the LAPD’s 77th Street station. “This is something to shout and rile about because he is not being given due justice.”

Officer Jay Cicinelli, a 25-year-old probationary officer, held a news conference Monday to release internal department documents that indicate he may be fired because he no longer meets the department’s vision requirements.

He also released medical documents from doctors who say he is capable of returning to work and a get-well notice from former Police Commission President Raymond Fisher, who visited Cicinelli at the hospital and said he would “have an important place in the LAPD” after his recovery.

“If I get fired, that will hurt me more than the pain and suffering from losing the eye,” said Cicinelli, who was injured during a traffic-stop shootout less than three weeks after he graduated from the Police Academy.

Cicinelli said he wants to return to his patrol assignment and is not interested in a desk job or accepting a disability retirement.

“I’m missing my career,” he said. “I’m 100% capable of doing my job.”

Despite the internal documents, LAPD officials said Chief Bernard C. Parks has not made a decision on Cicinelli’s future.

A department spokesman said the young officer’s case is being reviewed by the department’s Risk Management Committee, which will research case law and review state law enforcement standards, Civil Service guidelines and medical information.

“If Officer Cicinelli is unable to perform the essential functions of police officer, a very generous, lifetime pension exists that includes retraining and medical treatment,” the spokesman said.

Cicinelli, who currently works in community relations at the 77th Street station, said he has worked hard to recover from his injuries and that his shooting and driving scores are better now than they were when he graduated from the academy.

Cicinelli’s attorney, Lawrence J. Hanna, said the LAPD and other departments across the nation have let officers continuing working after losing an eye. But department officials said those injuries to LAPD officers occurred after they had completed their probationary period.

“I’ve never met an officer with more heart,” said Officer Thomas Bergren, who has worked with Cicinelli and believes he should be allowed to return to work. “He is as tactically sound as any officer I’ve worked with.”

“He works like he has two good eyes,” Officer Juan Cruz said.