District Attorney’s Agents Raid L.A. City College, District Office in Probe

Officers with the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office raided Los Angeles City College and the office of the Los Angeles Community College District on Tuesday as part of a criminal probe.

District attorney’s spokesman Joseph Scott confirmed that agents seized property at the campus and district office, but refused to comment on the operation beyond saying it was “an ongoing criminal investigation.”

The raid was conducted by the district attorney’s Justice Systems Integrity division.

The search warrant issued for the action states that agents sought records related to Administration of Justice courses taught at L.A. City College, which is part of the Los Angeles Community College District.

Los Angeles Community College District Chancellor Mark Drummond said he believes that the investigation is focused on courses taught by the City College’s instructors for the Los Angeles Police Department’s Police Academy, though he was uncertain. “I’m surmising,” he said.

More than a dozen district attorney’s officers arrived Tuesday at the community college district office in the 700 block of Wilshire Boulevard, and at least a dozen more appeared at the City College campus, Drummond and other officials said.

Drummond said agents had “taken over the garage and the building” when he arrived at 7:45 a.m.

Peter Landsberger, senior vice chancellor for the district, said agents took payroll records, student rosters and personnel files.

“It was a 3- or 4-inch stack of materials, not boxes and boxes,” said Landsberger, who added that officers also removed computers from the campus.

The search warrant states that the property to be seized was related to courses taught by four Administration of Justice instructors and included student grades and assignments. The warrant also listed correspondence between five college administrators, including former L.A. City College President Mary Spangler, and the district office.

“We have no idea what the allegations are they are looking into,” Landsberger said.

Times staff writer Rebecca Trounson contributed to this report.