Agents Lose Police Brutality Lawsuit

A federal jury cleared five Los Angeles police officers Friday of allegations that they roughed up two immigration agents who were on an undercover stakeout in the Rampart Division in November 2000.

In a civil rights lawsuit, Agent Shawn Butler and his supervisor, Ezequiel Garcia, accused the police of detaining them without probable cause, use of excessive force and false arrest.

Butler’s attorney, Howard Price, suggested during the trial that his client might have been pulled over because he is African American.

The agents sought a total of $725,000 in compensation plus as much as three times that amount in punitive damages, but the jury rejected their claims after deliberating one day.

Deputy City Atty. Christian Bojorquez, who defended the officers, said they were relieved and elated by the verdict.

Bojorquez said the Los Angeles Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division and the FBI had investigated the incident and concluded the officers acted properly.

“This is a sad day for the plaintiffs and a sad day for Los Angeles,” Price said after the verdict.

The incident began after Butler, driving an unmarked Camaro, was pulled over by two patrol officers for having an expired registration tag.

The officers said they thought the car might have been stolen because it was not registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Law enforcement vehicles are not listed for security reasons.

After being ordered to come out with his hands up, Butler said he flashed his badge and shouted to the officers that he was a law enforcement officer. But they ignored him and placed him in handcuffs despite his repeated pleas that they examine his credentials, Butler said.

Garcia, who was nearby, tried to intervene but was forced to the ground and handcuffed. He said he was kicked in the shoulder, aggravating an old injury that later required surgery. He said he did nothing to provoke the officers.

But the police officers testified that Butler was argumentative and hostile before they had a chance to determine his identity. They said Garcia was forced to the ground after he grabbed one officer’s arm.

“Butler and Garcia were in control of their own destiny,” Bojorquez told jurors. He said the incident could have been avoided if the immigration officers had notified the police in advance that they were in the neighborhood.

He said the officers asked Butler three times to get out of his car. When he finally emerged, Butler cursed at police, Bojorquez added.

“Why didn’t he just go with the program instead of causing a disturbance?” asked Bojorquez.

But Price told the jury it was the police, not the agents, who acted belligerently. He said that after realizing they had blundered, the officers concocted a story to discredit the agents.