Panel Calls for Punishment of LAPD Captain

A Los Angeles Police Department captain should be punished for failing to take appropriate action after being told of an alleged beating at the Rampart station, an LAPD disciplinary panel concluded Thursday.

Capt. Richard Meraz, the highest-ranking officer to be disciplined in the ongoing Rampart corruption scandal, faces punishment ranging from a written reprimand to termination.

Department sources say Meraz, who was transferred from Rampart to the Central Division, may receive a stiff suspension but probably will not be fired. The panel is expected to decide his punishment Monday.

Meraz’s neglect-of-duty charge stems from the alleged beating of a handcuffed suspect at the Rampart station in March 1999.

Officer Brian Hewitt was fired last year because of the incident.

Meraz, joined at Thursday’s hearing by his wife and other family members, told the board he was proud of his 35 years with the LAPD.

“As far as I’m concerned, my reputation, my esteem and my integrity speaks for itself,” Meraz said in a choked voice.

“No matter what penalty you impose on me,” he added, “I will continue to perform to the best of my ability.”

Barry Levin, Meraz’s attorney, said he was disappointed by the board’s decision.

“This is an example of the Police Department policing itself,” Levin said. “People may not believe it, but they’ve always been hard on their own.”

At issue at Meraz’s Board of Rights hearing was whether he took appropriate steps after another officer involved in the incident gave him information about it.

Despite the finding of guilt, the panel also found that Meraz “did not seek to hide or cover up any aspect of this investigation,” Capt. Gregory Meyer said.

However, board members did fault Meraz for:

* Failing to properly document a conversation with the officer who came forward.

* Failing to tell the complaint investigator of the existence of a possible witness.

* Failing to take appropriate action upon learning that an officer involved in the incident was using an unregistered confidential informant--a violation of departmental rules.

Levin said Meraz was not angry about the board’s vote.

“He’s a proud man,” said Levin, a former LAPD officer. “He takes his medicine.”

Levin said he hopes Meraz does not become a political victim of the scandal, noting that Chief Bernard C. Parks could demote him.

“I really hope they don’t destroy his career over this,” Levin said. “That would be a terrible mistake.”

The corruption scandal is being fueled by the admissions and allegations of former Rampart CRASH officer Rafael Perez, who has been convicted of stealing eight pounds of cocaine from LAPD evidence facilities and who is helping to root out corruption as part of a plea deal.

To date, 20 officers have been relieved of duty, suspended without pay or fired or have resigned in connection with the scandal. Investigators are looking at more than 70 officers suspected of either committing crimes or helping to cover them up.

Additionally, dozens of criminal convictions tainted by alleged police misconduct have been thrown out of court.

On Thursday, nine more cases were overturned.

One case involved the 1992 drug conviction of Esaw Booker, who has claimed for eight years that he was framed by Perez and other officers in a $20 dope deal.

Perez, who has implicated himself and other officers in a litany of crimes and misconduct, including unjustified shootings, denies that he planted drugs on Booker. Perez maintains that he never broke the law as a police officer until shortly after he joined the Rampart CRASH anti-gang unit in 1995.

Also overturned were the convictions of: Rafael Zambrano, 25, convicted on a weapons charge; Ivan Oliver, 24, convicted on a weapons charge; Cesar Natividad, 31, convicted of assault; Raul Alfredo Munoz, 26, convicted of assault; Carlos Rodriguez Guevara, 21, convicted on a drug charge; and Walter Rivas, 27, convicted on a drug charge.