By Adam Poulisse, Los Angeles
Daily News
Los Angeles Police Chief
Charlie Beck’s decision to suspend an LAPD officer with strong family ties,
overruling a disciplinary board’s recommendation to fire him, has sparked
criticism.
Shaun Hillman, 33, was
suspended for 65 days by Beck for denying a heated altercation at a Norco bar
that was caught on tape in January, according to several media reports. Hillman
allegedly used a racial slur and pulled a handgun during the fight but later
lied about it in an LAPD internal investigation.
The board unanimously
recommended that Hillman be fired.
The issue was brought up by
L.A. Police Commission president Steve Soboroff at Tuesday’s Los Angeles Police
Commission meeting, but he didn’t mention anybody specifically other than Beck.
State law prohibits going into specific details of a disciplinary case.
“The question is, do we, in
evaluating the direct reports ... take into account all aspects of what’s going
on, including the areas that we may disagree? The answer is, of course we do,”
Soboroff said.
The situation has elicited
questions of favoritism, as Hillman’s father is a former LAPD officer and his
uncle is former Deputy Police Chief Michael Hillman. The discussions align with
the commission’s evaluation of extending Beck’s contract another five years.
“In the evaluation, of course
this information comes up, (as well as) all the other information we collect,”
Soboroff said. “Our evaluation is happening right on the cusp (of the
situation), so are we asking for more and more information to do the evaluation
right? Of course we are.”
Beck was on a scheduled
vacation at the time of Tuesday’s meeting. Soboroff declined to comment
further.
The Los Angeles Police
Protective League, which represents LAPD’s rank-and-file officers, also
wouldn’t comment on the personnel issue.
The disciplinary board weighs
evidence and recommends ways to deal with disciplined officers, then their
decision goes to the chief.
“The chief of police can lessen
the penalty but cannot give a penalty that is greater than what is
recommended,” LAPD spokesman Commander Andy Smith said.
According to several reports,
Beck has agreed with 98 of the past 100 disciplinary board decisions to fire an
officer.
“Chief Beck occasionally
disagrees with the board,” Smith said.