Ticketing by Police Curbed, Suit Says

Long Beach police have been ordered not to issue traffic tickets to law enforcement officers, Long Beach city employees or the family members of either group, according to court documents and sworn statements in a pending federal lawsuit.

The 2-year-old case, which is proceeding through U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, was brought by Gary P. Runyan and Brian E. Potter, two veteran motorcycle officers who say their careers were ruined by their commander for disobeying what they considered to be an illegal directive.

In sworn depositions, Runyan, Potter and three co-workers state that in July 1997, Lt. Jack Starbird, the traffic division commander, instructed roughly half the department’s motorcycle officers not to cite municipal employees or police officers from any jurisdiction.

Starbird “told us directly that he did not want any police officers, police officers’ families and city employees, especially the ones that worked in City Hall, to be issued any traffic citations,” Officer Thomas Beckman said in a deposition taken in December.

The lawsuit alleges that when Potter complained to the department’s highest-ranking officers about the order, nothing was done to correct the situation. Instead, Potter said, then-Chief Robert M. Luman and his adjutants supported the lieutenant, saying “we have to hold the line” and “back our command staff.”

Named as defendants in the case are Luman, current Police Chief Jerome E. Lance, Deputy Chief Dale L. Brown, Cmdr. Ted Hulsey, Starbird and the city of Long Beach. Runyan and Potter are seeking $10 million in damages.

The lawsuit details, among other things, the dismissals of tickets against state parole agents who were stopped for speeding and the refusal to cite municipal officials, including Mayor Beverly O’Neill’s chief of staff.

“At best, Starbird’s order was hypocritical. At worst, it was illegal,” said Douglas L. Applegate, an Irvine-based attorney who is representing Runyan and Potter. “It looks like everyone in city government gets a free pass.”

Police Department officials declined to discuss the case, saying it was inappropriate to comment on a pending lawsuit. Long Beach City Atty. Robert E. Shannon said, however, that the officers’ allegations are untrue and that the department has never had a policy that grants certain people immunity from traffic tickets.

Shannon contends that no one in the Police Department tried to destroy the careers of either Runyan or Potter. Both men, he said, continued to earn high marks in their performance evaluations and were never disciplined for any ticket-related problem.

Runyan and Potter, however, say that the work atmosphere in the traffic division steadily deteriorated for them because of the directive they say Starbird issued and alleged threats to punish them for writing tickets for law enforcement personnel.

Consequently, Runyan said, a preexisting heart condition for which he was taking medication worsened, forcing him to retire early. Potter said he began suffering from high blood pressure and eventually took a desk job at the department to relieve the stress.

According to case records, the controversy began July 23, 1997, when Starbird purportedly instructed 10 to 12 motorcycle officers under his command not to cite police officers, Long Beach city employees or their relatives. The city employs about 5,000 people.

The group belonged to Watch 3, one of two shifts of motorcycle officers who are primarily responsible for traffic enforcement in Long Beach. It is not clear whether the other shift received a similar order.

Shortly after Starbird allegedly issued the directive, Runyan and Potter said, they learned from other officers that the lieutenant was upset about speeding tickets they had issued to two state parole agents based in Long Beach.

One was cited as he returned in a state car to the parole office in Long Beach. The other was off duty and in his personal car. The tickets stated they were going 15 to 20 mph over the speed limits.

According to sworn statements from Officer Richard D. Sotelo and Sgt. Wendell Armstrong, Starbird told them that other police agencies should get consideration when it comes to tickets. They recalled that the lieutenant threatened to get rid of Runyan and Potter or take disciplinary action against them.

According to Runyan’s deposition, Armstrong even wanted to submit Runyan’s job evaluation for approval while Starbird was on vacation because he feared the lieutenant would unfairly downgrade his performance.

Another officer, Gary Tymich, said in a sworn statement that Armstrong warned him that Starbird was “adamant” about his order and said that “we need to be careful or we’re going to see some heat coming down.”

Tymich, who is not suing the city, added: “There were times when I’d say, ‘Enough is enough. This person is going to get a ticket.’ Or I’d say, ‘Well, I can’t cite you because I’d probably get some reprimand or in trouble for doing that, so goodbye.’ ”

Runyan and Potter say that news of Starbird’s threats was an incentive for them to seek dismissals of the parole officers’ speeding tickets by not appearing in traffic court. They say Starbird had asked the city prosecutor to dismiss at least one of the tickets.

As further evidence of leniency involving police and city officials, Applegate cites the traffic stops of Randal Hernandez in August 1998, when he was the mayor’s chief of staff. Police memos show that Hernandez was never cited although he was pulled over twice in one night, for an illegal left turn and for not wearing a seat belt.

Case records show that the mayor’s top assistant simply told police who he was or showed them his city identification card. One motorcycle officer, Brian Armstrong, said that Hernandez insulted him after he pulled him over.

Tymich, the other patrolman who stopped Hernandez, said that after the incidents, a city employee came over to the Police Department to apologize for the chief of staff’s behavior.

Attorneys for the city of Long Beach dispute Applegate’s allegations and are seeking to have the case dismissed before a trial. A hearing is scheduled before District Judge Audrey Collins in late April.

Shannon and Deputy City Atty. Daniel S. Murphy assert that the department’s motorcycle officers were never given an order preventing them from writing tickets to police officers, city officials or their relatives.

They say that the officers were actually told they should not cite law enforcement officials until they had summoned a supervisor to the scene to help make the decision--a procedure required by the Police Department manual. One veteran motorcycle sergeant said in a sworn statement that he thought that was the case.

The manual mentions the circumstances in which supervisors have to be called out, but it does not mention anything about traffic stops of police officers. When asked about the manual’s language, Shannon acknowledged that the policy is not clear on whether a supervisor is needed for a traffic citation.

Court records and depositions from officers indicate that supervisors were rarely, if ever, dispatched for traffic stops involving police officers or city employees. Some officers said they were unaware of such a requirement.

According to Potter’s sworn statement, officers were told to call a supervisor only if the officer or city employee was rude or uncooperative. Otherwise, he said, Starbird wanted his officers to let them go.

“We were forbidden from citing people that were police officers or relatives of police officers or city employees or city employees’ relatives if they weren’t . . . jerks,” Potter said under oath in September.

The city further contends that the case should be dismissed because the goal of maintaining a cooperative spirit among law enforcement agencies outweighs any damages allegedly suffered by Runyan and Potter.

“The city of Long Beach has an interest in fostering trust and confidence among its officers and between its officers and other law enforcement agencies,” the city’s court papers state.

Although state parole agents have been ticketed by Long Beach police, that has never interfered with any joint ventures between the two agencies, said Levan Bell, a regional administrator for the parole division of the state Department of Corrections.

“We expect our folks to pay their tickets,” Bell said. “Whether they get them on duty or off duty.”