Pubdate: Sat, 26 Feb 2000
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2000 Houston Chronicle
Contact:  Viewpoints Editor, P.O. Box 4260 Houston, Texas 77210-4260
Fax: (713) 220-3575
Website: http://www.chron.com/
Forum: http://www.chron.com/content/hcitalk/index.html
Author: Scott Glover, Los Angeles Times
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rampart.htm

EX-OFFICER GIVES TEARFUL APOLOGY AT HIS SENTENCING

LOS ANGELES -- As he was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for
stealing 8 pounds of cocaine, ex-Los Angeles police Officer Rafael Perez --
the man who brought to light the worst corruption scandal in Los Angeles
Police Department history -- tearfully apologized to his family, the police
department and the citizens of Los Angeles.

Saying his prison term does "not take into account my greatest
transgressions," Perez told a packed courtroom that there were no excuses
for the "atrocities" he and other anti-gang officers in the LAPD's Rampart
Division have committed.

"For many years I proudly wore a badge of honor and integrity and enforced
the laws ... ," said Perez, in a blue county jail jumpsuit and chained at
the waist. "In the Rampart CRASH unit things began to change. The lines
between right and wrong became fuzzy and indistinct. The `us against them'
ethos of the overzealous cop began to consume me."

Perez, whose voice frequently quavered with emotion, continued: "To do our
job fairly was not enough. My job became an intoxicant that I lusted after.
I can only say I succumbed to the seductress of power. Used wrongfully, it
is a power that can bend the will of a man to satisfy a lustful moment. It
can open locked vaults to facilitate theft. It can even subvert justice to
hand down a lifetime behind bars."

The sentencing capped Perez's criminal drug case stemming from his theft of
cocaine from LAPD facilities, but it does not end his involvement in the
ongoing investigation into corruption at the police department.

As part of his plea bargain for a lighter sentence on the drug charges,
Perez -- who has been in jail since his August 1998 arrest -- agreed to tell
investigators about other corrupt officers still wearing the badge.

Despite crimes in which Perez has implicated himself and others, court
officials said he might be out of prison in 16 months.

By his own account, Perez has been a liar, especially in court, where he
frequently perjured himself testifying against criminal defendants. Yet,
even cynical investigators seemed willing to believe Perez was contrite
Friday.

"Do I believe him?" one LAPD detective said, thinking out loud. "I don't
know. I guess I do believe it was genuine."

"I think today, Mr. Perez spoke from the heart," said prosecutor Dan Murphy,
who is leading the district attorney's team of lawyers building prosecutions
on the Rampart scandal.

But Perez's comments did little to assuage the anger of many LAPD officers.
Ted Hunt, the president of the police union, asked to speak at Perez's
sentencing, saying that all honest LAPD officers were victimized by the
rogue cop. The judge, however, denied his request. Union leaders said Perez
should have been given the maximum 12-year sentence.

On Friday, Police Chief Bernard C. Parks said he did not believe Perez was
candid with investigators in at least one inquiry: his association with, and
knowledge of, ex-LAPD Officer David A. Mack, who was sentenced last year to
14 years in prison for robbing a bank of more than $700,000. Perez has said
he was unaware that Mack was involved in any criminal activity.

"We believe he knows far more than he's talking about," Parks said. "He
steers clear of Mack totally. Mack is a guy they all fear."

Parks said police speculate that Perez knows more about Mack because they
were close friends, worked off-duty jobs together and partied together in
Las Vegas two days after Mack robbed the bank with an unidentified
accomplice.

The corruption investigation has uncovered evidence of unjustified
shootings, evidence planting, false arrests, beatings, witness intimidation
and perjury. At least 21 officers have been relieved of duty, quit or were
fired in the wake of the scandal. About 70 officers are under investigation.
Also 40 criminal convictions have been reversed and hundreds of cases may be
overturned.
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