Three Rampart Scandal Officers Get $15 Million

They win their federal lawsuit claiming false arrest by the LAPD and malicious

prosecution. A juror cites a lack of `any hard evidence.'

By Scott Glover and Matt Lait, Times Staff Writers

February 10, 2006

A federal jury on Thursday awarded $15 million to three Los Angeles police officers who

alleged they were falsely arrested and maliciously prosecuted during the Rampart

corruption scandal that roiled the LAPD for years beginning in 1999. The jury award

represents a bitter pill for the city, which already has doled out about $70 million in

Rampart-related settlements to gang members, drug dealers and other victims of police

abuse — and now faces the prospect of paying another significant judgment to officers

who were accused of committing some of that same misconduct.

The Orange County jury deliberated for 2 1/2 hours before voting unanimously in favor

of Sgt. Edward Ortiz, Officer Paul Harper and former Sgt. Brian Liddy. The award was

split evenly among them. "It was real, real obvious that they were made the fall guys,"

said juror Rose McKay. "We listened to the evidence for three weeks and never heard

any hard evidence against them."

Dale Goldfarb, a private attorney hired to defend the city, said he disagreed with the

verdict and planned to challenge it in post-trial motions. "We think the verdict was

completely wrong and was not supported by any evidence at the trial," he said. A

spokesman for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the city probably would appeal if those

motions failed. "It's obviously a significant amount of taxpayer money," spokesman Joe

Ramallo said. "It's serious."

The verdict could hardly come at a worse time for the mayor. Villaraigosa, who has

pledged to expand the Police Department and tackle other city needs even as the

government faces a persistent structural deficit, is working to prepare the first city budget

of his tenure since being elected last year. The $15 million, Ramallo noted, would be

enough to fund 150 more police officers.

Ortiz, Liddy and Harper were arrested in April 2000 on corruption-related charges

stemming from the then-unfolding Rampart scandal, in which corrupt former Officer

Rafael Perez alleged that he and his colleagues routinely framed, beat and otherwise

mistreated suspects. After a month-long criminal trial, Harper was acquitted of all

charges. Liddy and Ortiz were acquitted on some counts but convicted along with another

officer of obstruction of justice. Their convictions were thrown out, however, after the

judge concluded that she had committed an error that tainted the verdict.

The three officers filed a civil lawsuit a year later, alleging that police and prosecutors

conspired to deprive them of their civil rights by falsely arresting them, searching their

homes at gunpoint, fingerprinting them and bringing them to trial based on evidence

elicited from convicted felons and liars. Some of the criminal charges against the officers

and their subsequent civil suit stem from the April 26, 1996, arrest of an alleged 18th

Street gang member named Allan Lobos, who Perez contended was framed by the

officers on a gun charge. Perez made that allegation as part of a plea deal in which he

agreed to implicate allegedly crooked officers in exchange for a reduced sentence on

charges that he stole three kilograms of cocaine from department evidence lockers. Based

on Perez's accusations, Oritz, Liddy and Harper were accused of falsifying information to

frame Lobos. Among the charges they faced were conspiracy, perjury and filing a false

police report. They were acquitted of all counts relating to that arrest.

Ortiz and Liddy faced separate charges growing out of another arrest, but the convictions

on those counts were the ones overturned based on the judge's error. In court papers, the

three officers alleged that Perez added details and changed facts about the alleged

planting of a gun on Lobos during his various debriefings with detectives assigned to a

special task force to investigate his allegations. "Under the circumstances, [any]

competent investigator worth his salt would realize that Perez's motivations were strictly

self-serving and that his credibility was zero," the officers said in court papers.

Prosecutors said at the time of the trial that they corroborated Perez's allegations about

the Lobos arrest and did not rely on Perez himself for any element of the case. In fact,

Perez was not called to testify. Despite their acquittal, the officers said that they were

humiliated by the allegations and that their reputations were ruined. "They've been

through hell," said attorney Etan Z. Lorant, who represented the three. "The jury did the

right thing. These guys deserve it."

During closing arguments, Lorant and his co-counsel, Joseph Y. Avrahamy, asked the

jury to return verdicts of $5 million apiece. The jury awarded $5 million plus $1 to each

officer. "They were sending a message," Lorant said. "They wanted to show the city that

these officers needed to be respected." After being placed on unpaid leave for five years,

Liddy was fired last month for misconduct related to a June 1999 narcotics arrest. Ortiz

remains on unpaid leave pending resolution of misconduct allegations against him.

Harper, who was cleared of all criminal and administrative charges, was returned to

active duty several years ago.

The jury's award covered the officers' pain, suffering, emotional distress and other

general damages. No punitive damages were awarded. In another finding, the jury

rejected the plaintiffs' allegations that former LAPD Chief Bernard C. Parks, now a City

Council member, maliciously or fraudulently sought their prosecution.

Parks testified at the trial, as did detectives who investigated the Rampart scandal.

McKay, the juror, said some of the witnesses "conveniently couldn't recall" events that

led to charges being filed against the officers. Lorant spent more than five years working

on the case "because I believed in these guys," he said. He said that the litigation took an

emotional toll on all of them and a financial toll on him personally. He said he had to

borrow money to pay bills while he continued working on the case. Lorant thanked the

jurors profusely after the verdict. "You guys are great," he said as they left. "Thanks….

I'm ready to cry."

Liddy, who was the only plaintiff present when the verdict came in, did cry. He declined

to discuss the case later. His two colleagues could not be reached for comment. "My

clients are in shock," Lorant said. "They've been vindicated."