U.S. Probes Officer’s Alleged Lie at Criminal Trial

Disclosure that a Los Angeles police officer lied in a criminal trial has prompted a federal investigation and raised the possibility that numerous criminal cases may have to be reopened.

U.S. Atty. Mike Genaco said Tuesday that federal investigators are trying to determine whether Officer Edward Ruiz, 34, an eight-year LAPD veteran, violated a defendant’s civil right not to be subjected to false testimony or false police reports. He said two other LAPD officers also are being investigated on the same type of charge, but he would not say if their cases were related to Ruiz’s, nor would he reveal any further details.

Ruiz served a 22-day suspension after a Police Department Board of Rights found him guilty in April of perjury and writing a false report in a 1995 misdemeanor case.

That decision has prompted the offices of Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti and City Atty. James Hahn to notify lawyers in close to 450 felony and misdemeanor cases in which Ruiz was listed as a potential witness or involved in any other way.

The notification gives the lawyers a chance to review the cases to determine whether the officer might have given false information or testimony that warrants reopening the case or dismissal of charges against their clients.

Victoria Pipkin, press spokesman for Garcetti, said the letters were sent to about 250 defense lawyers. She said she does not yet know how many have responded.

Deputy City Atty. Maureen Siegal, whose office prosecutes misdemeanors, said her office will notify lawyers concerning 35 cases in which Ruiz was involved.

Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks said Tuesday that he was disturbed by what he thought was a relatively light punishment for Ruiz.

“I’m not satisfied with the 22-day suspension,” he told reporters.

Under the city charter, however, Parks does not have the authority to increase the penalty.

Parks said he reassigned Ruiz to a position in which the officer does not have the arrest powers of a peace officer, but the chief did not elaborate.

Ruiz’s lawyer, Darryl Mounger, said that his client is innocent and that he has appealed the department’s actions to the Superior Court.

Ruiz is accused of lying in a 1995 incident in which he arrested Victor Tyson on a misdemeanor charge of carrying a loaded gun in public. He reported that he and his partner arrested Tyson and another man because they fled through a darkened area between two houses after Ruiz saw them standing next to a broken store window. During the chase, Ruiz said, they saw Tyson throw the gun down.

The prosecutor in the case, former Deputy City Atty. Evan Freed, said the officers’ account would have convicted an innocent man.

He said their story contradicted evidence. The window was not broken and the owner of the building said it had never been broken, Freed said. The broken window was important in the case because it gave the officers justification for stopping Tyson for questioning.

Freed also questioned whether Tyson really had a gun. Freed said his own investigation showed that the area was so dark, the officers, who testified that they did not use their flashlights, could not have seen Tyson throw the gun down.

He reported the discrepancies to the judge, who not only dismissed the case, but found Tyson “factually innocent,” which Freed described as “very unusual.”

Mounger, Ruiz’s lawyer, disagreed with Freed’s account. He said the Board of Rights ignored evidence that he presented showing that the window was broken and had simply been repaired. He also rejected Freed’s contention that Tyson never had a gun.

If Ruiz is convicted of violating Tyson’s civil rights, he could face a year in prison. If he is convicted of conspiracy, he could get 10 years.

Times staff writer Matt Lait contributed to this story.