Reuters LAPD Whistle-Blower Released to Secret Location By Jill Serjeant LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- The whistle-blower in a massive police
corruption scandal was released from prison on parole to a secret location
on Tuesday, fearing for his safety after alleging that he and fellow
officers framed, beat, and even shot innocent people.
Prison officials said former Los Angeles Police Department () officer Rafael Perez, 31, was taken to an undisclosed location
after a judge ordered his early release on Monday from a five year term
for stealing cocaine from a police evidence locker.
``Being a former Los Angeles police officer, I think people recognize
that his life could be in danger and so we're going to ensure that his
release is quiet and incognito,'' said Russ Heimerich of the California
Department of Corrections.
Following the charges against him in September 1999, Perez began
telling prosecutors of a string of alleged misdeeds by police in his
Rampart division -- home to Los Angeles' mostly poor, Hispanic immigrants.
His allegations led to ongoing investigations of scores of other
officers, the overturning of more than 100 criminal convictions and a bill
of hundreds of millions of dollars to the city in legal and settlement
costs.
Perez had served almost three years of his five year term when Superior
Court Judge Robert Perry ordered his early release, saying the information
he had provided was ''extraordinary in its scope.'' Perry said that Perez
could, if he wished, serve out his parole time outside California.
Prosecutors failed on Monday to get an appeals panel to put the release
of Perez on hold until they can file a formal appeal. They still intend to
proceed with that appeal, arguing that the judge overstepped his
authority.
CONCERNS ABOUT SAFETY
Perez's lawyer, Winston Kevin McKesson, told reporters that the former
cop had turned to religion during his jail time and wanted to be a
productive member of society.
But McKesson added; ``He certainly has concerns about his safety. He
doesn't know who would want to take a potshot at him.''
Scores of prisoners, many of them gang members, have been released
because their convictions were deemed insecure after Perez's revelations.
But the probe into officer corruption at Rampart has been slow moving
and only a handful of officers have been brought to trial so far. They
include Perez's former partner, Nino Durden, who has admitted that he and
Perez shot an unarmed man during a gang raid, leaving him paralyzed from
the waist down, and then planted a gun on him.
Three other Rampart officers found guilty in November of fabricating
charges against gang members had their convictions overturned a month
later on the grounds of jury error and insufficient evidence. A further
seven officers have been charged and are awaiting trial.
Los Angeles police and city officials agreed reluctantly last year to
submit to federal oversight of the police force, including measures to
weed out rogue officers, end racial profiling and strengthen civilian
control of the police.
The so-called federal consent decree followed a four year probe of the
Los Angeles Police Department by the U.S. Justice Department which alleged a ``pattern or practice'' of civil rights abuses
over several years. Copyright © 2001. Reuters. All rights reserved. saved from url: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010724/ts/crime_police_dc_1.html
July 24, 2001
FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of criminal justice, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
