LAPD officers corruption convictions overturned

Saturday, December 23rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Three police officers found guilty of corruption in the worst scandal in department history had their convictions tossed out by a judge who said the courts shouldn't remedy the scandal with an unfair verdict.

In a ruling obtained by The Associated Press late Friday, Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Connor said jurors disclosed in post-trial statements that they had focused on an issue which was never raised in the trial.

Connor threw out the convictions of Los Angeles Police Department Sgts. Edward Ortiz and Brian Liddy, and Officer Michael Buchanan, who were convicted last month of conspiracy and other charges involving framing gang members.

``While recognizing the enormous pressure on the community, on the police force, on the district attorney's office, and on the courts to 'fix' the Rampart scandal, this court is only interested in evaluating the fairness of the proceedings and determining whether justice was done in this case,'' Connor said in her 18-page ruling.

The officers were the first members of the now-defunct Rampart station anti-gang unit to be tried on charges based on the allegations of ex-officer Rafael Perez, who said police beat, robbed, framed and sometimes shot innocent people in the city's tough Rampart neighborhood near downtown.

The ruling reversed the convictions on the basis of jurors discussing the wrong issue and failing to decide a key question _ whether two policemen were struck by a vehicle driven by a gang member.

Instead of discussing whether the accident occurred, Connor said the jurors focused on whether any of the injuries rose to the level of ``great bodily injury.''

``While the court cannot and will not presume to guess whether a correction of the errors would result in any different verdict, it most certainly concludes that the verdict in this case cannot stand,'' Connor said.

Defense attorneys said they were elated and hoped the reversals would mark an end to the case. The next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 16, at which time a new trial could be scheduled.

Harland Braun, who represented Buchanan, said it was ``a relief to have this decision before Christmas. It had been surreal for the officers to stand there and have the jury convict them of something that didn't happen.''

District attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said prosecutors were deeply disappointed with Connor's ruling but had not yet had a chance to analyze it and decide on their next step.

Lead defense attorney Barry Levin, who represented Ortiz, said Connor took her action in the face of enormous community pressure.

``The court's ruling was absolutely just and correct and courageous in light of the controversy and emotion brought about by the prosecution of this case,'' Levin said.