AUSTIN OFFICER FIRED IN DRUG CASE

Acting Chief Says Officer Lied In Reports

Acting Police Chief Cathy Ellison fired an officer Tuesday after she
said the officer lied about the circumstances of an arrest that led to
a man's conviction on felony drug charges.

Ellison also said in an eight-page memo that officer James Learmonth
mishandled evidence during the June arrest of Ernest Smith and that
his actions discredited the department.

A judge in December threw out the case against Smith, and prosecutors
dropped charges against a woman who was with Smith when he was arrested.

Austin attorney Tom Stribling, who is representing Learmonth, declined
to comment Tuesday, other than to say that his client is considering
appealing Ellison's decision.

Travis County Assistant District Attorney Patty Robertson said
Learmonth remains under a criminal investigation.

According to the disciplinary memo, Learmonth stopped a car Smith was
driving and arrested and charged him with possession of drug
paraphernalia and drug possession. He also arrested and charged
Smith's female passenger with tampering with evidence.

Smith filed a complaint against Learmonth 13 days later accusing the
officer of making an unauthorized stop, filing a false report and
failing to return his cell phone, the memo said.

Internal affairs looked into the case, and Learmonth admitted during
an interview with investigators that he had lied in his police report,
according to the memo. Internal affairs investigators told prosecutors
what they had learned.

The memo said that Learmonth wrote in documents that he had seen that
Smith had a crack pipe, but later "admitted to internal affairs that
the statement about observing the crack pipe wasn't true."

He also falsely wrote in reports that the woman "ground her foot" in a
circular motion on what he thought was crack cocaine in an effort to
destroy the evidence, the memo said. Learmonth's patrol car video
shows she never did so.

"Officer Learmonth falsified his report and probable cause affidavits
to bolster the charges," the memo said. "He intentionally and
knowingly placed false information in these documents, knowing it was
unlawful to do so."

According to the memo, Learmonth failed to seize the gum Smith's
companion was chewing, which would have verified if she was chewing
crack cocaine, and he was seen on a videotape of the arrest handling
Smith's cell phone. After the arrest, it was lost.

The memo said that Learmonth's actions were reported by local media,
which discredited the department and that his actions "are unethical
and taint the entire justice system."

Learmonth's credibility, the document said, also would likely be
affected at the upcoming trial of a man who police said shot at them.
Learmonth was involved in the incident.

Smith's lawyer, Keith Lauerman, said Tuesday that he did not know the
specifics of Ellison's findings and could not comment. He had said in
December that prosecutors had alerted him that they were seeking to
dismiss the case against Smith because of "something tainted" his
conviction.