Driver Alleges Officer Assault

A woman has filed a $10-million complaint against Irvine, alleging that a police officer sexually assaulted her during a Dec. 14 traffic stop.

The 32-year-old woman alleged in a complaint that Officer David Park stopped her in Laguna Canyon and demanded she fondle him to avoid arrest and that he fondled and sexually assaulted her.

The officer, a three-year veteran, has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation, and the Orange County district attorney’s office is separately investigating the allegations, authorities said Thursday.

The woman was driving home from work as a part-time dancer at a Lake Forest adult nightclub, where she worked about once a month, said her lawyer, Jerry Steering. The woman also works as a sales manager, Steering said.

She was pulled over about 11:30 p.m. while driving south on Laguna Canyon Road, south of the San Joaquin Hills tollway, the complaint said. Park allegedly told her that if she did not fondle him, she would go to jail for driving with a suspended license.

The woman’s license had been suspended for failing to complete a class related to a DUI case, Steering said.

“Fearing going to jail and otherwise being terrified of Officer Park,” she complied, and the officer fondled and sexually assaulted her, the complaint said.

After he left, the woman called 911 and spoke with a Laguna Beach police dispatcher, who said she should contact Irvine police, according to Laguna Beach Police Capt. Paul Workman. Steering said the woman notified the Orange County district attorney’s office Jan. 4.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Kang Schroeder said the case was being investigated.

“We have numerous leads on this case, and we want to make sure we follow every lead we have,” Schroeder said. “The integrity of law enforcement is very important, and we want to make sure the truth comes out.”

Schroeder said anyone with information about the officer or the case should contact the district attorney’s office.

The Irvine Police Department suspended Park with pay Jan. 13, a day after it was notified by the district attorney’s office of its criminal investigation, said Police Chief David L. Maggard.

The department is close to finishing an internal investigation to determine whether Park should continue working as an Irvine police officer, Maggard said. Before becoming an officer, he was a civilian employee of the department.

“There are serious allegations, and we take them very seriously,” Maggard said.

“It is important to indicate that these allegations, as they have been presented, do not represent the character of the men and women of the Irvine Police Department,” he said.

The complaint alleged that Park also had pulled the woman over July 29 after she left the club. The complaint alleged that Park made a sexual advance and that the woman gave him her number “to get rid of him.”