Oxnard Officer Indicted on Civil Rights Charges in Brutality Case

A federal grand jury indicted Oxnard Police Officer Robert Flinn on Tuesday on civil rights charges for allegedly beating up a robbery suspect and then filing a false report about it.

The indictment in Los Angeles Federal District Court comes after a failed attempt by Ventura County prosecutors last year to convict Flinn of police brutality. During that Ventura County Superior Court trial, county prosecutors called Flinn a “185-pound bully with a badge” and accused Oxnard police officers of maintaining a “code of silence” to protect him.

“The vast majority of police officers would never dream of violating the law,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Jonathan S. Shapiro, who worked on the Rodney G. King case. “But if the public is going to have faith in law enforcement, they have to trust that when brutality occurs, it will be prosecuted.”

In last year’s trial, Flinn, 30, was accused of beating two men: Juan Lopez, a robbery suspect whom Flinn chased down on foot and allegedly hit with a flashlight; and Victor Aguiar, whom Flinn is accused of kicking in the face during an arrest.

Flinn was acquitted on two counts of police brutality, while the jury deadlocked on two other charges. The district attorney’s office decided not to seek a retrial on the deadlocked charges.

In the meantime, federal prosecutors and the FBI launched an investigation into the case. At least a dozen Oxnard officers were reportedly questioned in Los Angeles during grand jury proceedings.

The grand jury indicted Flinn on civil rights violations in only the Lopez case, and have added a count accusing Flinn of falsely reporting that Lopez attacked him.

Like the four Los Angeles police officers in the King case, Flinn is being charged under federal law after being found not guilty by a local jury. He is to be arraigned Tuesday. If convicted on both charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

Flinn’s Los Angeles-based attorney, William Hadden, said the officer is again being wrongly accused.

“For whatever reason, the federal government has deemed it worthy of attention,” Hadden said. “I can’t understand it. Flinn is known as a good officer, the jury spoke and the prosecution in the state case was as zealous as it possibly could have been.”

Flinn could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

After months on leave, he returned to active duty after his acquittal last year. But with the federal probe pending, he was pulled from patrol recently and put on desk duty. Acting Police Chief John Crombach, who testified on behalf on Flinn last year, declined to discuss specifics of the case.

“It doesn’t change my opinion of the officer,” Crombach said. “He’s a good police officer.”

Flinn’s legal troubles began two years ago, when a fellow officer accused him of using excessive force. Ventura County prosecutors subsequently charged Flinn with four counts of brutality stemming from the two alleged beatings.

In December 1995, prosecutors say, Flinn chased Aguiar, then 23, and another man wanted on a probation violation into the backyard of an Oxnard home.

Flinn allegedly kicked Aguiar in the face while he was lying on the ground and bloodied his nose. Although Aguiar complained to authorities, no report of the incident was completed by police, prosecutors contended.

A month later, Flinn chased Lopez, an Oxnard construction worker, through the city’s La Colonia neighborhood. Lopez, who was carrying stolen battery chargers, was clubbed in the head with a flashlight, prosecutors say.

Lopez said he was knocked unconscious after being hit at least seven times. Lopez settled a civil claim with Oxnard for $20,000.

But in the criminal trial, only one police officer testified against Flinn and Aguiar could not identify him during testimony.

The jury found Flinn not guilty of two charges of brutality against Lopez and split 7 to 5 for acquittal on a third count. The panel voted 11 to 1 for a not guilty verdict on the charge of kicking Aguiar.