Man Convicted in Tainted Rampart Case Files Lawsuit

A man whose conviction for illegal gun possession was thrown out because of evidence uncovered in the Rampart police division scandal filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday against present and former officials of the Los Angeles Police Department, the Police Commission, the city attorney’s office and the City Council.

In a suit seeking class action status, Miguel A. Hernandez, 41, accused the civilian agencies of countenancing and condoning a cover-up of police misconduct.

Drafted by attorney Stephen Yagman, a longtime police critic, the suit accuses the city attorney’s staff of pressuring police officers to tell the same story by suggesting that unless they cooperate in a joint defense, they could be ineligible for indemnification if punitive damages are awarded against them in a civil action.

Responding to the suit, Chief Assistant City Atty. Tom Hokinson called the charges “irresponsible . . . wild and unfounded.”

The lawsuit further charges that the City Council and the Police Commission share blame for the current scandal because of their failure to investigate or fully punish police misconduct.

It asks for an injunction that would disband the Rampart police division and the department’s anti-gang unit, known as CRASH, and it accuses all the defendants of violating the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Practices Act (RICO) to the extent that they participated in the bogus prosecution of innocent people.

Hernandez, the plaintiff in the suit, had his conviction thrown out last week by Superior Court Judge Larry P. Fidler at the request of the district attorney’s office.

He was one of four people whose convictions were overturned after an investigation of LAPD Officer Rafael Perez’s claim that he and his partner, Nino Durden, routinely set up suspects, planting guns and drugs on them.