Officer Accused of Frame-Up

A Los Angeles police officer indicted by a federal grand jury two months ago for allegedly framing a man during a gun possession arrest was charged Wednesday with violating the civil rights of another man in an unrelated weapons case, federal authorities said.

Officer Edward Patrick Ruiz of the LAPD’s 77th Street Division could face more than 20 years in prison if convicted of the charges stemming from both arrests, U.S. Atty. Alejandro Mayorkas said.

The Ruiz inquiry, while unrelated to the ongoing Rampart corruption scandal, involves similar allegations of police abuse.

The indictment handed up Wednesday involves the case of Thyjuan Tomikio Taplin, who was arrested June 20, 1995, by Ruiz and his partner, Doug Beard, on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, Taplin was driving a red Chevrolet Nova about 1:45 a.m. when he was stopped by Ruiz and Beard. At Taplin’s preliminary hearing, Beard testified that they pulled Taplin over because he failed to obey a stop sign at Halldale Avenue and 62nd Street.

The officers ordered Taplin to get out of his car and step to the sidewalk, Beard testified. Once on the sidewalk, Beard said, Taplin “grabbed his waistband and ran” away from them.

As Taplin fled, he tossed a gun, Beard testified. Taplin was eventually caught and arrested. Ruiz also testified about the arrest during at least one other hearing, federal authorities said.

The account of the arrest by Beard and Ruiz came under scrutiny when authorities discovered that there was no stop sign at the intersection where they alleged that Taplin ran one.

Despite the problem with the officers’ testimony, Taplin pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

The district attorney’s office was examining the officers’ conduct in the Taplin case but turned the matter over to the U.S. attorney’s office upon learning that Ruiz was under investigation by federal authorities.

Ruiz was charged Wednesday with conspiracy to violate Taplin’s civil rights, said a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.

“When an individual is prosecuted because a police officer has stopped him on the street without cause, has lied about it in a police report and under oath in a court of law, we all become victims,” Mayorkas said. “This office is committed to vindicating the civil rights of all the people in this district by prosecuting the corrupt police officer as vigorously as possible.”

Ruiz’s lawyer, Daryl Mounger, did not return calls seeking comment.

Beard was not charged in the indictment but remains under investigation, authorities said. Beard, who is assigned to a drug unit at the LAPD, declined comment.

Attorney Ira Salzman, who represents him, said his client was the passenger officer on the night of the arrest. Beard said he had noticed that Taplin’s car was missing a front license plate, Salzman said. Ruiz, who was driving, followed the car.

After a short time, the car slowed to stop, and Taplin got out and ran, Salzman said, adding that Beard then witnessed Taplin throw a shiny object that he believed was a gun over a fence. Ruiz later recovered a gun from behind the fence, Salzman said.

Beard told Salzman that when it came time to write the arrest report, Ruiz, his training officer, told him to write down that Taplin had rolled through a stop sign. Beard told Salzman that although he had not personally seen a stop sign at the intersection, he assumed Ruiz had.

Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti said the new charge against Ruiz sends a message to corrupt officers: “The criminal justice system will not tolerate police misconduct in any form.”

Ruiz was first indicted in April along with Officer Jon Paul Taylor for allegedly violating the civil rights of Victor Tyson during an arrest April 21, 1995. In that case, the officers were accused of falsely saying Tyson had a concealed weapon. Ruiz was Taylor’s training officer at the time, authorities said.

The case against Tyson was dismissed when the deputy city attorney prosecuting it grew concerned about inconsistencies between Ruiz’s and Taylor’s statements and other issues. Taylor resigned amid of an internal affairs probe into his conduct, according to LAPD officials. Ruiz was found guilty of misconduct by an LAPD trial board and suspended without pay for 22 days.