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Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
15 February 2007

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Inglewood Police Department, C

Inglewood police chief confirm

Inglewood interim Police Chief J.I. Davis today confirmed that some members of his department were being investigated for misconduct, but he refused to give specifics.

At an afternoon news conference at Inglewood police headquarters, Davis insisted that his department began its probe after developing its own information of possible police corruption.

"The investigation was initiated in January 2006, after hearing rumors and developing information about possible misconduct," he told reporters.

Davis refused to give specifics, but The Times has reported that at least six current or former Inglewood police officers are under investigation for allegedly having sex with female employees of massage parlors and other adult businesses that had been the target of a high-profile law enforcement crackdown.

Davis denied reports that the department's investigation was a result of information gathered by federal officials.

"That the information was the result of a federal investigation" is incorrect, he said. "The department did not receive information from any federal agency."

But sources familiar with the misconduct allegations said that federal authorities, including the U.S. attorney's office and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, began hearing about the alleged involvement of police officers last year.

Davis said he called the news conference to stress his department's role in attempting to deal seriously and aggressively with the allegations.

Davis, who took office in May after the investigation was underway, would only say that his agency was actively pursuing a difficult inquiry. He said the officers had logged between three and six years on the force, and some were on street patrol.

Inglewood, a working-class city of 112,000, has long struggled with prostitution problems. Because of its proximity to Los Angeles International Airport, Inglewood has numerous hotels lining its main commercial streets.

Davis insisted that the investigation, which involves administrative rather than criminal improprieties, did not indicate there was a systemic problem with officer misconduct. He said the investigation could lead to changes in training and management.

The investigation comes as the department, the seventh-largest police agency in the county, struggles to fill two dozen vacancies in its 213-officer force.

Sources have told The Times that the internal affairs investigation began after federal authorities launched an investigation of money-laundering and prostitution involving women smuggled into Los Angeles from Asia.

That probe, which resulted in charges against more than two dozen people, led to allegations that Inglewood officers engaged in the sexual liaisons -- sometimes in uniform -- during work hours and off duty, according to several local and federal sources familiar with the case.

Evidence seized by federal agents and local investigators included "very detailed ledgers" that suggested Inglewood officers were receiving sexual favors at the businesses without paying, according to one source close to the investigation.

The ledgers, the source said, had the names of customers and the amounts they paid -- except when the customers were police officers. In those cases, the women allegedly entered a symbol.

Word of the inquiry comes less than two months after the FBI confirmed that it was investigating two Inglewood police officers in the alleged rape of a woman they stopped on suspicion of prostitution. The woman's attorney said last week that he has filed a claim against the city and is awaiting an answer from authorities on whether the two officers have been arrested or charged.

Davis today said there were no developments in that case.

To date, sources say, none of the officers has been fired, though some have retired or left the city for other departments.

The internal affairs investigation began more than a year ago when several Inglewood massage parlors and tanning salons were the focus of federal allegations of money laundering and prostitution.

To date, 18 people have pleaded guilty in that investigation, and four others -- including the alleged owner of the brothels, Kimberly Mao -- are awaiting trial.

Mao has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges and has repeatedly denied involvement in prostitution or money-laundering.

But in a recent interview organized by Mao, a dozen women who worked for her at the businesses told The Times that they had seen or heard of officers coming into the massage parlors and sometimes demanding sexual services.

The women, who denied they were prostitutes, recalled several specific incidents, including one in which officers donned masks to hide their identities and pointed guns at employees. Another employee told The Times that an older officer exposed himself in an unsuccessful effort to have her engage in sex with him.

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Article sourced from

Los Angeles Times - CA,USA15 February 2007

Inglewood police chief confirm

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Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
15 February 2007