Lawyer Accuses LAPD Unit of Exposing Alleged Victims of Sexual Hazing

A group of Los Angeles police officers who are suing the city over allegations they were victims of sexual hazing on the LAPD's amateur football team now risk facing retaliation, their attorney said. because the department revealed their identities during an internal investigation.

The attorney, Michael Morrison, said he was concerned that the internal affairs unit leaked the names to other officers during questioning about misconduct related to the Centurions, an all-LAPD team counting around 50 players which competes with other police departments. His comments come as department officials announced they lack evidence to bring criminal charges against officers “at this time.”

Morrison said officials should have been aware of the risk of backlash if the names of his clients – which had been kept secret during the litigation – were known within the department. Like other police departments, Morrison said, the LAPD has an insular culture that punishes those who break ranks, even to report possible wrongdoing.

“I don’t see any other purpose, because you can ask all the questions you want without giving away their names,” Morrison said.

An LAPD spokesperson said Thursday that the department does not comment on pending litigation and that a call to the internal affairs unit was not immediately returned.

Morrison said one of the officers who came forward with allegations of hazing was confronted last week at a Dodgers game by an LAPD colleague and former Centurion teammate, who demanded to know why the officer had “denounced” us.

The encounter left the officer shaken and worried about his future with the department, his attorney said.

Morrison said he called the internal affairs unit this week and spoke to a supervisor about his concerns. The supervisor became defensive and asked Morrison if he knew how to conduct an investigation better than the detectives, Morrison said.

A separate criminal investigation into the sexual assault allegations was conducted by the department's elite Robbery-Homicide Division, according to Capt. Scott Williams. “We have not received any cooperation from the victims, so we do not have enough evidence to initiate criminal proceedings at this time,” he said.

Morrison said he was not surprised by the decision, saying “that's what happens when the department investigates itself.”

“Our victims have not spoken to them, but our victims have provided them with the tort claims,” which lay out all of the allegations in the case, Morrison said. “We also told them to wait, that these people would be deposed as part of our civil case and that we would share the depositions with them. »

The case centers on allegations — first reported by the Times last fall — by four officers who said in lawsuits filed against the city that other Centurions players sexually assaulted them as part of of a culture of hazing that the department's top brass had long known about and failed to address. influence.

The officers are listed as John Does in court records, and The Times is not identifying them, in accordance with its policy on reporting on alleged sexual assault victims. The city — which is named as a co-defendant alongside Centurion Corp., a nonprofit associated with the team — has denied the allegations made in the officers' lawsuit.

In March, the city argued in a court filing that it should not be liable for any potential damages since the officers' alleged hazing did not occur “in the course of their duties as employees of the city of Los Angeles, were not known to the City of Los Angeles and were not ratified by the City of Los Angeles.

An LAPD detective was the first to speak out, saying he was sexually assaulted in early 2009 in front of 30 to 40 LAPD officers during a hazing ritual for Centurions recruits. Several of those present, he said, are now supervisors in the department.

In the months following his decision to report the case last year, the detective's name circulated throughout the department, even reaching long-retired former officers.

The LAPD launched its own internal investigation last year to look into the Centurions' allegations, which is standard practice whenever a claim or lawsuit is filed against the department.

Such internal investigations are usually conducted in secret, with the names of those involved and details of what was said in interviews kept secret outside of special hearings.

Morrison said he was concerned about the potential chilling effect of releasing his clients' names. The matter is still under investigation, he said, and the internal affairs unit has sent around 150 letters to former Centurions players.

Mario Munoz, a former LAPD internal affairs lieutenant, said that in most cases, investigators must disclose the complainant's identity to the accused officer, as required by the so-called Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights. peace, a series of California laws that give law enforcement officers unique rights. legal protections. This, he added, also applies to police officers who may not have participated in the alleged assaults but could still face disciplinary action for failing to report their misconduct.

At the same time, the department has been the subject of numerous lawsuits in recent years alleging that the internal affairs process has been “weaponized” to silence whistleblowers who report potentially embarrassing information, including involving staff. of command, he said.

“Internal Affairs has a lot of systems in place to ensure that (retaliation) doesn't happen, but the problem is when you control the process, you control the investigation,” said Munoz, who retired in 2014.

The detective leading the allegations in the Centurions case previously told The Times that he kept the assault a secret for a long time because of the potential blowback. He initially only told a few family members and friends, until years later he chanced upon one of the police officers who was present during the hazing.

He reported the alleged assault to the Los Angeles Police Commission's Office of Inspector General in March 2023. After not receiving a response to his initial complaint, he sent the office a follow-up email a months later, which was also ignored. said.

Two other officers who joined the detective's complaint said they were sexually harassed in 2006 and 2009. In total, the four accusers say the abuse was an open secret among department leadership and that they were able to continue for “many years”.

Morrison previously denounced what he saw as a campaign by the department to “discredit” the detective and others associated with the case. Days after the first complaint was filed, several of the detective's relatives received letters “in a harassing manner” from the department referencing an investigation into unspecified allegations, Morrison said.

The statute of limitations on criminal charges has expired, but officers remain able to pursue civil action.