Slain Officer Was Suspended Over Threat

The off-duty Pasadena police officer who was shot to death on Labor Day at an ex-girlfriend’s home was suspended for 30 days and made to take an anger management classes earlier this year after threatening a fellow officer.

The revelation of the department’s recent action came as sheriff’s investigators disclosed Tuesday that a domestic dispute apparently led to the death of Corneal Howard Milloy, 40, a father of three and 12-year Police Department veteran.

Milloy was gunned down at the entrance of a Palmdale home shortly after 6 a.m. Monday when he “became involved in a physical altercation” with his former girlfriend, investigators said.

“The girlfriend’s current boyfriend intervened and during that period of time shot Milloy,” said Sheriff’s Homicide Lt. Daniel Rosenberg. He added that Milloy came to the home in the 40300 block of Castana Lane to reconcile with the woman, whose name was being withheld.

The boyfriend, Marcus Leon Powell, 27, of Los Angeles, fled from the home after the shooting. He was arrested on suspicion of murder later in the day and is being held on $1-million bail, Rosenberg said.

The weapon used in the shooting was not Milloy’s, police said.

Meanwhile, Milloy’s sister, Ruth Perry, said Tuesday that she does not believe her brother would have gotten into a fight with the woman.

“I know my brother. He was a policeman. He would never walk up and never put himself in jeopardy,” she said.

Milloy’s death came less than a week after the department received a certificate showing that he completed an anger management course, which officials required him to take along with a 30-day unpaid leave for threatening to kill another officer.

Sources said that Milloy served his suspension in the spring and summer, and that it involved a verbal threat during an argument with a fellow officer over another former girlfriend, a Police Department employee.

Pasadena Police Chief Bernard Melekian declined on Tuesday to divulge details of Milloy’s suspension, but confirmed that “there was a previous [incident] that was dealt with extensively and what I had hoped was appropriately.”

“The issue of domestic violence is an issue which takes its toll on all facets of society,” he said.

Milloy, an Azusa resident, was the first Pasadena officer slain since 1969. “He was a good officer and someone the members of his department respected,” said Melekian.

As the flag flew at half-staff outside police headquarters Tuesday, Milloy’s colleagues said they believed he had turned the corner after completing his suspension and the anger management classes.

“It is a shock to us. We are trying to deal with it and help his family,” said Dennis Diaz, president of the Pasadena Police Officers Assn. Milloy has two daughters, ages 3 and 15, and a 22-year-old son, according to his sister and authorities. The 15-year-old’s birthday was Monday, the day Milloy was killed, according to a police memo.

Milloy, a graduate of Pasadena High School who attended college in Iowa, had always dreamed of being a police officer, according to his sister.

Milloy joined the Pasadena department in 1988 as a trainee and shortly after became an officer. He received a dozen commendations from the department over the years.

Melekian said Milloy was instrumental in setting up the Lincoln Triangle Community Policing Project, a highly successful program that is thriving in a neighborhood once known for violent crime.

However, Milloy had also been the subject of lawsuits alleging use of excessive force, records show. In June 1995, Liney Hamilton sued Milloy and the department, alleging that the officer beat him repeatedly with a flashlight or baton during a chase Sept. 5, 1994, records show. The city argued that Hamilton had fallen during a pursuit.

In August 1997, a judge granted a “nonsuit” in favor of Milloy and the city. But this February, the 2nd District Court of Appeal overturned that decision and ordered a new trial, stating that jurors had received conflicting versions of evidence, records show. The new trial has yet to be held.

In 1998, a guardian for a 13-year-old boy sued Milloy and two other Pasadena officers after the child’s elbow was broken during an altercation at Jackie Robinson Park.

The officers became involved after the boy’s sister got into a confrontation with another female, court records show. The city paid $51,500 to the youth’s family earlier this year without admitting liability, said Bob Hays, Pasadena’s claims coordinator.