LOS ANGELES _ A former Los Angeles police sergeant violated city ethics rules when he leaked to the media a recording from his stop of an actress from "Django Unchained" _ but should not be fined for doing so, a judge has determined.
In a proposed order signed Friday, administrative law Judge Samuel D. Reyes agreed with city ethics officials that now-retired Sgt. Jim Parker inappropriately shared confidential information _ audio from his personal tape recorder _ and did so to create a private advantage for himself.
Each of the two violations carries a potential fine of up to $5,000. But due to mitigating factors, Reyes wrote, "no actual fine should be imposed."
"Violation of provisions intended to ensure good, fair and honest government is a serious matter," Reyes wrote. "However, the severity of (Parker's) violations is lessened once the facts and circumstances surrounding his actions are taken into account."
The judge pointed to several reasons: The LAPD's policy for using personal tape recorders doesn't specify that the audio is considered confidential. During a two-day hearing last month, several officers testified that they thought such recordings were their own private property. Parker didn't benefit financially from releasing the audio, Reyes wrote, and the LAPD was also an "intended beneficiary" of his actions.
The city's Ethics Commission will now review the judge's recommendations and ultimately decide whether Parker broke city rules. A spokeswoman for the commission did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
An attorney representing Parker said that although he was disappointed that Reyes found violations had occurred, he believed the judge made "the right decision" in rejecting the fine. Attorney Larry Hanna continued to criticize the Ethics Commission, saying the board unfairly went after an officer who leaked the recording to quell accusations of racism by police.
"The money they spent trying to go after him _ the staff they put into this, the time they put into this," Hanna said. "They could have used that money to give him a ticker-tape parade for what he did."
The case stems from a headline-grabbing stop Parker made in September 2014, when he responded to a report of a couple having sex in a car parked near a Studio City talent agency. He found actress Daniele Watts and her boyfriend, Brian James Lucas, who police say matched the description of the couple involved.
When Parker asked for their identification, police said, Watts refused to comply and walked away. She was handcuffed down the street by two other officers, but released after her boyfriend handed police her ID.
The story quickly gained national attention after the couple publicly complained about the way Watts was treated. Lucas wrote on Facebook that police acted as though the couple had been engaged in prostitution because he is white and Watts is black.
The LAPD opened an internal affairs inquiry into the allegations. Parker defended his actions and released a 24-minute audio recording of the encounter, captured on a personal recorder he kept in his pocket.
The recording quieted some of the criticism levied against Parker and the LAPD, and prompted some backlash against the couple's comments. Watts and Lucas later pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace and were ordered to write apology letters to the officers and citizens who reported them.
Parker was accused of insubordination for speaking to the media about the incident without the department's permission, he said. He was ordered to attend a disciplinary hearing but retired instead, ending his 26-year career with the LAPD.
In November, the Ethics Commission announced its accusations against Parker, a highly unusual move that has been closely watched within the LAPD.
The long-running saga wound its way into a downtown courtroom last month, where ethics officials and Parker's attorney made their case before Reyes during a two-day hearing.
No one questioned whether Parker released the recording _ he's admitted that in interviews with reporters, at a Police Commission meeting and again during the September hearing. Instead, the case hinged on whether that recording was considered confidential and whether Parker violated city rules by making it public.
Reyes ultimately agreed the audio was confidential, saying Parker released it to defend himself and the LAPD against accusations of racial profiling. That, the judge concluded, unlawfully created a private advantage for Parker "as it protected his reputation against allegations of racism."
