officers - The Black Vault

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newspaper, city and state.)
King Case
May Affe~t
Raid Trial
• 39th and· Dalton:
Attorneys on both sides
of LAPD vandalism case
worry that videotaped
beating will make jury
selection more difficult.
By SCOIT HARRIS
TIMES STAFF WRITER
The controversy surrounding
.. the videotaped police beating of
motorist Rodney G. King has cast
its huge shadow on jury selection
in the criminal vandalism trial of
. four Los Angeles police officers
implicated in an August, 1988,
raid that left four apartments at
39th and Dalton streets a shambles.
After first weeding out citizens
who, for whatever reasons, will
not be able to serve in a trial
expected to last a little longer
than the Persian Gulf War, Los
Angeles Municipal Judge Larry
Paul Fidler will ask prospective
jurors to answer a questionnaire
that includes such queries as:
• "Have you ever witnessed
police activity which caused you
to question the propriety of the
actions of any police officer?"
• "Do you have any strong
opinions, one W?Y or the other,
(Mount Clipping in Space Below)
about the Los Angeles Police Department,
or about the way its
members accomplish their duties?"
Defense attorneys and prosecutqrs
said Wednesday, as jury selection
began, that they are wary that
.the frequent broadcast of the amateur
videotape showing the King
beating by Los Angeles officers
will hinder the ability to impanel
an impartial jury.
.. The King case is totally irrelevant
to what happens here, or what
happened at 39th and Dalton almost
three years ago," said Deputy
bist. Atty. Christopher Darden.
"We certainly don't want any jurors
who are prejudiced against
officers simply because they belong
to the LAPD."
"It's a bad, bad time for trying to
get an impartial jury in a police
case," said Paul de Pasquale, de- l
fense attorney for Officer Charles I
A.Wilson. .
In addition to the questionnaire,
potential jurors are likely to face
direct questions regarding the
King case as the jury selection
continues next week, De Pasquale
said.
Fidler on Monday denied a defense
request to delay the trial for
two months to let the King controversy
blow over, saying close
questioning of jurors could produce
an impartial jury.
In addi'tion to Wilson, the defendants
accused of wrecking two
duplexes in the 3900 block of
Dalton Street during a large-scale
. police narcotics ~d on Aug. 1,
1988, include police capt. Thomas
D. Elfmont, the former commander
of the Southwest Division; Sgt.
Charles Spicer and Officer Todd
Parrick. The charges include misdemeanor
vandalism and conspiracy.
Barry Levin, defense attorney
for Elfmont, said the King case
could prompt "jurors to potentially
lash out at a particular case of
police abuse and organizational
mismar.agement."
Date:
Edition:
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
THURS. MAR 21, 1991
METRO SECTION, PAGE 1
Title: KING CASE MAY AFFECT
RAID TRIAL
Character: CIVIL RIGHTS
or
Classification: 80-33B
Submitting Office:
IDS ANGELES
Indexing:
SEARCHED
SERIALIZED
MAR 2 '7 1991
INDEXED·----!
fl~Q~..,_,..-_,. __ -1
FBI - LOS ANGELES r·
Levin likened the charges
against Elfmont to the clamor for
Police Chief Daryl F. Gates to
resign. In both cases, the lawyer
said, .. They're trying to make him
[the commander) responsible for
everything his officers do."
The 39th and Dalton case led to
internal disciplinary actions
against dozens of the 80 officers
involved in the raid. Before the
King beating, it had been the
Police Department's most notorious
abuse case in recent years. ·
According to prosecutors, Spicer
and patrol officers were working
under Elfmont's orders when they
descended on the homes targeted
as sites for gang and narcotics
activity and caused widespread
I
I
FBI/OOJ
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