Rampart Case

I was pleased to read that the Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley has decided to appeal Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Connor’s biased and misguided decision to throw out the guilty verdicts of Sgts. Edward Ortiz and Brian Liddy and Officer Michael Buchanan (Jan. 12). I hope Cooley also considers asking for sanctions against Judge Connor, who obviously leans over backward to ensure that no police officer is punished for egregious behavior toward the citizens of Los Angeles. Now the only question is: Where do the mayoral candidates stand on this issue?

DONNA J. WARREN

Los Angeles

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Re “Retry 3 Officers in Rampart Case,” editorial, Dec. 29: The premise of your editorial was that the officers should be retried because in a new trial the prosecution could call several witnesses who were excluded from testifying in our trial, and Rafael Perez would be able to testify.

You missed the mark. If there were to be a retrial, the prosecution would not be able to call the previously excluded witnesses because the officers were acquitted of that charge. Also, nothing prevented the prosecution from calling Perez as a witness in our trial.

I do not know if there will be a retrial or not in the case, but I do know that these officers are innocent. I do know that the mission of the police is to do good. I do know that the Rampart scandal has been blown way out of proportion. I do know who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.

BARRY LEVIN

Attorney for Sgt. Edward Ortiz

Los Angeles