Fullerton Cops Punished for Humiliating Woman

Four Fullerton police officers have been punished for humiliating a woman who they thought was unconscious after arriving at her home to investigate a possible suicide attempt.

Police Chief Patrick E. McKinley declined to discuss the incident, apart from saying it was the subject of an internal-affairs investigation.

But in an internal memo, McKinley said two of the officers have been disciplined for conduct unbecoming an officer, and two -- who apparently witnessed the incident -- for failing to take action.

He did not identify the officers involved, disclose what punishments they have received nor say when the incident took place.

According to his account, the four officers responded to a radio call of suspicious circumstances, possibly a suicide, in a trailer home. When they arrived, they found a woman lying on her bed, apparently unconscious. They knew the woman from prior calls, the chief wrote.

At first, the officers tried to wake her by calling her name, shaking her and moving the bed.

Then one of the officers lowered himself inches from her and passed gas loudly, saying, “This ought to wake her up,” McKinley wrote. Another officer climbed over her on all fours and, without touching her, mimicked a cat licking milk, he wrote.

As it turns out, the chief wrote, the woman was aware of what was going on.

A department spokesman reached late Thursday said the complaint was generated from within and swift action was taken.

“Once we were made aware of it, we started an investigation immediately,” said Sgt. Ron Gillett. “I feel comfortable everything we did from an administrative standpoint was done correctly.”