LAPD OFFICER HAD PREVIOUS CRIMINAL RECORD BEFORE HE WAS HIRED

A police officer suspected of committing a series of armed robberies and
stealing money from drug dealers had five felony arrests before he was
hired by the Police Department, court records show.

Officer William Ferguson, 30, was arrested four times as a youth and once
as an adult on burglary and theft charges, records reveal. The adult arrest
in 1991 resulted in a misdemeanor conviction for attempted burglary and
three years on probation. His juvenile records are not available to the public.

LAPD officials declined to comment Monday but said any prospective officer
convicted of a felony _ even as a juvenile _ would eliminate them from
candidacy. Neither arrests or misdemeanor convictions would disqualify an
applicant.

"We're disappointed someone slipped through the cracks," said Mitzi Grasso,
president of the Police Protective League.

"It appears to me that there was a breakdown in the screening process. It's
a problem that the department, the league and the city have been wrestling
with for some time."

Ferguson was arrested four times on suspicion of theft and burglary as a
juvenile between 1986 and 1990, according to court records. One of those
arrests was by his future employer, the LAPD, which hired Ferguson in 1996.

Ferguson and Officer Ruben Palomares, 32, are being investigated for
allegedly committing a series of home-invasion robberies and stealing
narcotics and money from drug dealers. Both men have been suspended without
pay. Their attorneys have denied the allegations against their clients.

Palomares remains in federal custody on drug charges and is a suspect in a
1999 homicide in Huntington Park. He was arrested in June after allegedly
trying to buy 10 kilograms of cocaine from an undercover Drug Enforcement
Administration agent.

Numerous personnel complaints have been filed against Ferguson, who has
been investigated on allegations that he framed suspects, planted evidence
and intimidated a witness.

Ferguson also was involved in an on-duty shooting involving an alleged
teen-age drug dealer. Ferguson shot at the teen but missed. The Police
Commission's inspector general is conducting an internal investigation into
the shooting.