June Hearing Set for Officer Over Publication of Book
A hearing is scheduled for June 23 to decide the future of a veteran Pasadena police officer who was suspended after writing a supposed tell-all book about the force using fictional names for real officers.
Officer Naum L. Ware has been on paid leave since Feb. 22 stemming from his self-published book “The Rose Garden.” The book, which some of his colleagues compare to a supermarket tabloid, contains incidents of sexual promiscuity, minor corruption and spousal abuse in often graphic detail.
Ware will get an administrative hearing before Police Chief Bernard Melekian to determine what discipline he faces.
In March, Melekian told The Times that Ware’s book was nothing more than unsubstantiated “in-house gossip,” but that he was disturbed by “unacceptable” language used to describe women and gays. Melekian said the language raised questions about Ware’s ability to deal with those groups professionally.
But police union officials and First Amendment advocates say Ware’s suspension raises serious issues about freedom of speech.
Ware, 41, has said he wrote a department history as a cautionary tale, so that past mistakes would not be repeated.
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