DA LET BAD COP SLIDE

LAPD evidence not enough for DA. Despite blood-spattered walls and
compelling evidence gathered by police, the Los Angeles County
District Attorney's Office refused to prosecute a corrupt former
Rampart police officer who was fired for a vicious station-house
beating, a Daily News investigation has learned.

On two separate occasions during the past 18 months, the District
Attorney's Office rejected requests from top LAPD officials and
detectives investigating the widening Rampart scandal to bring
criminal charges against former Officer Brian Hewitt, according to
documents obtained by the Daily News.

The documents for the first time reveal the scope of the evidence
compiled by LAPD detectives against Hewitt, including samples of blood
splattered on the walls of the Rampart Station, which were matched to
the victim's DNA; testimony from an emergency room doctor detailing
the victim's injuries; testimony from several citizens and law
enforcement personnel; and a piece of carpet from the Rampart Station
that is soaked with the victim's bloody vomit.

Only recently have county prosecutors agreed to take another look at
what investigators and an LAPD disciplinary board called the
"malicious and egregious" treatment Hewitt inflicted upon a handcuffed
gangbanger in 1998.

The DA's previous handling of the case could prevent Hewitt from ever
being prosecuted effectively, sources close to the special LAPD
corruption task force said. Federal prosecutors also are eyeing the
case.

The documents obtained by the Daily News raise questions about the
role of District Attorney Gil Garcetti's office's oversight of police
misconduct and its willingness to prosecute rogue cops.

Much of the focus of the LAPD scandal until now has been on the
breakdown of internal discipline in the LAPD, which allowed officers
in the Rampart Division CRASH unit -- Community Resources Against
Street Hoodlums -- to systematically violate the rights of dozens of
people. In this case, police initiated an immediate and thorough
investigation of the station-house attack and Chief Bernard Parks
fired Hewitt, acting on the recommendation of the Board of Rights, a
panel of officers who hear disciplinary cases.

The District Attorney's Office twice found the evidence insufficient.
Garcetti's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons declined comment, saying only
that Hewitt's name has been mentioned recently as part of the district
attorney's ongoing investigation of several LAPD officers. "We have
several cases under investigation, and we're not going to comment on
any of them."

Garcetti has been sharply criticized by his two opponents in the March
7 primary over his 1996 decision to abandon the district attorney's
rollout team, which investigated police shootings. The DA's
challengers charge he is more concerned with re-election than with
playing a vigorous role in investigating the massive LAPD corruption
scandal. Garcetti has denied those accusations.

Hewitt could not be reached and has denied that the beating took
place.

Parks fired Hewitt last year for attacking Ismael Jimenez, a muscular
18th Street Gang member with a long criminal rap sheet. The chief
acted on the recommendation of the Board of Rights, which conducted a
hearing on the matter last June. The board found Hewitt guilty on six
counts related to the incident.

LAPD Cmdr. Dave Kalish, a spokesman for Parks, said Sunday that the
department still believes Hewitt should be prosecuted. "Obviously, we
are very eager to move forward. We believe that we have provided
sufficient evidence for a criminal filing. However, we certainly
understand the DA's responsibility to proceed strategically." Jimenez
could not be reached.

The tale of abuse comes straight from the police dungeon.

According to LAPD documents, Hewitt wrongfully arrested and detained
Jimenez in February 1998. After hauling Jimenez and a friend to the
Rampart detectives station, Hewitt punched the gangbanger in the chest
and stomach repeatedly, and choked him, the official documents reveal.
Hewitt also shoved Jimenez, while he was handcuffed, causing his head
to strike the interview room wall. Following the attack, Jimenez
vomited at least four times and sought treatment at a nearby hospital,
where a doctor noted his injuries, records indicate.

Hewitt is one of many current and former LAPD Rampart anti-gang
officers identified by corrupt-cop-turned-informant Rafael Perez as
being involved in abusing and framing innocent people for crimes
between 1995 and 1998. Perez agreed to talk to investigators in
exchange for a lenient sentence for stealing cocaine from an LAPD
evidence locker. Sources close to the probe said Hewitt remains under
investigation for possible criminal misconduct, including a July 1996
shooting described by Perez as dirty.

The District Attorney's Office issued a report to the LAPD in March
stipulating its reasons for not prosecuting Hewitt for the Jimenez
beating. The county prosecutors concluded that there was "insufficient
evidence" to prove in court that Hewitt assaulted Jimenez. The office
argued there were no witnesses, except possibly another gang member,
and no photographs of his injuries.

All of the major reasons cited by the District Attorney's Office for
not putting Hewitt on trial were rejected by the LAPD Board of Rights
last June when Hewitt was fired, newly obtained documents reveal.

The board reportedly made its decision not on the basis of the
testimony of Jimenez or Hewitt, but on the physical evidence and
statements from several witnesses, including the emergency room
doctor, the hospital's security guard, a man who saw Jimenez vomit
outside the station house, and an LAPD criminalist who analyzed the
evidence and DNA results. Sources close to the LAPD investigation also
said photographs clearly showing Jimenez's injuries were taken.

The LAPD disciplinary board concluded: "We see these as mistakes of
the heart in that striking or physically punishing a handcuffed
prisoner is a malicious and egregious act that cannot be mitigated in
any way."