4 MORE LAPD OFFICERS ARE SUSPENDED

Four more officers connected to the Los Angeles Police Department's
scandal-ridden Rampart Division have been relieved of duty as a result of
the department's ongoing corruption probe, sources said Thursday.

All of the officers at one point worked in the same anti-gang CRASH unit as
ex-officer-turned-informant Rafael Perez, the man at the center of the
scandal.

Police officials and sources close to the investigation declined to say
specifically why the officers had been relieved of duty with pay. But
several sources said more officers are expected to be relieved of duty as
the investigation continues.

Meanwhile, officials with the district attorney's office say they expect to
go to court next week to overturn several more criminal convictions tainted
by Rampart officers' misconduct. They gave no further details.

The LAPD action, which occurred late last week, brings to 20 the number of
officers who have been relieved of duty, suspended without pay or fired or
who have resigned in the course of the continuing Rampart probe. "Certainly
by now, with those kinds of numbers, it's pretty clear that some changes
are called for within the department to make sure this kind of alleged
behavior is rooted out and never occurs again," said City Councilwoman
Laura Chick, former head of the council's Public Safety Committee.

In addition to the criminal investigation, the LAPD is finishing up an
internal administrative review, which is expected to be released in several
weeks and to contain a number of significant recommendations to improve the
monitoring and supervision of special police units like CRASH.

The LAPD's criminal probe so far has uncovered alleged unjustified
shootings, beatings, drug dealing, evidence planting, false arrests,
witness intimidation and perjury.

One source close to the investigation said the four recent suspensions stem
from several different incidents. A lawyer representing one of the officers
said his client was blindsided when he was handed a letter telling him he
was, in the LAPD vernacular, "assigned to home," which essentially means
relieved of duty with pay.

"He doesn't know what to think," said the lawyer, who asked that both his
and his client's name be withheld. "I guess their theory is that if they
are still paying him they don't have to tell him anything, and if they
don't tell him anything that will help their investigation."

Police officials say the department has gone to great lengths to restore
public faith in the LAPD, in some cases relieving of duty officers who
ultimately may be vindicated. Department officials refused to confirm the
identities of any of the officers relieved of duty.

One of the officers recently relieved of duty was brought up on
departmental charges in connection with the alleged beating of a suspect in
1998. Two officers were fired in connection with that incident, but the
officer now assigned to home was found not guilty during a so-called board
of rights, as LAPD's departmental trials are called.

That officer also was involved in at least one shooting while he worked in
the anti-gang CRASH unit in 1996. There is no indication that he was
relieved of duty in connection with that shooting, which involved several
other CRASH officers.

At least one other officer in the most recent round of suspensions was
involved in a shooting while he worked as a CRASH officer. His partner
during the 1997 shooting was Perez, the officer at the center of the
scandal. Again, there is no information that the shooting is among the
half-dozen under review by the Rampart task force.

Many of the allegations against the officers come as a result of
information provided by Perez, who has spent the past four months
cooperating with detectives as part of a plea agreement that is expected to
cut time from his prison sentence for stealing eight pounds of cocaine from
an LAPD evidence room.

Initially, police thought they would need only 40 hours to completely
debrief Perez. Sources, however, said detectives underestimated how much
Perez has to say.

Several of the officers who were relieved of duty earlier said in
interviews with The Times that they believe that Perez is fabricating
allegations against them to save himself.

As part of his cooperation deal, Perez will have to take a lie detector
test covering the information he has provided to detectives, sources said.
If authorities can prove that he was untruthful or omitted information
about police misconduct, his deal could be invalidated and he could be
sentenced to 12 years in prison instead of serving five. Since September,
Perez has been depicting the Rampart CRASH unit as an out-of-control group
of officers who routinely broke the law to rack up arrests and impress
supervisors. Some area residents say the CRASH officers acted like the
street gangs they policed.

To date, 11 criminal convictions have been overturned and four inmates have
been released from prison or jail as a result of the LAPD investigation.
District attorney officials said that as many as 40 or more convictions may
be overturned, as they continue their review of potentially tainted cases
involving Perez and other officers involved in the scandal.

By the time the probe is concluded, sources close to the investigation
said, "a handful" of officers could be charged with crimes. As many as 30
may be fired, they said.