EX-OFFICER IS ORDERED FREED

LOS ANGELES, July 23 (Reuters) -- A judge ordered an early release
from prison today for the former police officer at the center of the
city's worst police corruption scandal. Prosecutors sought to keep
the ex-officer there while they appealed, but a state appeals court
denied the request. The former officer, Rafael Perez, has served
almost three years of a five-year term for stealing cocaine from a
police evidence locker. Without the judge's order, Mr. Perez would
not have been eligible for release until December.

Judge Robert J. Perry of Los Angeles County Superior Court ordered
Mr. Perez released on parole within 24 hours, citing good behavior.