OAKLAND DRUG ARRESTS MAY BE TAINTED

Review Of Cases Involving 4 Officers

A review by the Alameda County public defender's office has found 150
questionable drug arrests linked to four Oakland police officers being
investigated for alleged brutality, falsifying police reports and planting
evidence.

A spokesman for the public defender's office said the number of cases could
grow even larger as the review continues into the West Oakland cases handled
by the officers, who called themselves ``The Riders.''

``This is kind of the first broad-brush look at cases. We're undertaking a
more systematic look as we speak,'' said Assistant Public Defender Ray
Keller, who is in charge of the review.

Sources said officials are looking into about a dozen instances in which the
four officers are accused of mistreating suspects. One man was allegedly
beaten so badly that his collarbone was broken, and another was allegedly
driven to a remote spot and pounded while in handcuffs. Others accuse the
officers of planting drugs on them.

The Alameda County district attorney's office has dismissed charges in ``a
handful'' of cases and may announce in two weeks whether Officers Matt
Hornung, Clarence ``Chuck'' Mabanag, Jude Siapno and Francisco Vazquez could
face criminal charges. Vazquez' name has come up most often in the review of
problem cases, sources said.

Oakland Police Chief Richard Word recommended last month that all four
officers be fired based on the evidence gathered in a two-month internal
police investigation. The FBI, at the invitation of Oakland police, is
looking into whether the officers violated the civil rights of any suspects.

So far, public defenders are reviewing ``virtually every case'' from January
1999 to July, when the four officers were turned in by a rookie officer who
worked with them on the midnight shift.

The scandal could lead in some cases to convicted individuals being freed,
released from parole or probation, or resentenced, authorities say. Those
arrested could have their charges dismissed.

``There is certainly a level of outrage over the prospect of a wrongfully
convicted client serving time in a state penitentiary,'' said Keller, who is
reviewing cases full-time with Assistant Public Defender Clif Taylor.

``What more can I say? It's upsetting,'' Taylor said. Keller said public
defenders, like all defense attorneys, are trained to be skeptical of police
statements.

But he voiced anger at the possibility that the officers may not only have
filed false police reports, but also lied under oath in court in which the
strength of their testimony led to convictions.

``You have cops committing active perjury in a courtroom, and that has not
been emphasized,'' Keller said. ``This may have the biggest effect on the
criminal justice system in that juries and judges are being lied to.''

Prosecutors have dismissed cases outright because there is no way to confirm
the validity of drug charges in any given case if officers are found to have
lied, Keller said. ``How do you prove one way or another when you've got
demonstrably lying cops?'' he said.