The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Two police supervisors are facing disciplinary charges in the case of a woman who was reportedly kidnapped by one of them.
Lt. Jerry Lankford, 48, has been charged with conduct not becoming an officer and lying to a superior officer, according to documents filed Thursday with the city Police Commission by Police Chief Heather Fong.
Lankford is accused of allegedly forcing Christina Gomez, 19, into his vehicle at around 2:30 a.m. on July 1, 2003. Gomez claims he offered her money -- apparently for sex -- and held her for 30 minutes before she managed to escape. He was off-duty at the time.
Capt. Patricia Jackson, 52, who allegedly ordered an officer preparing a police report on the incident to leave Lankford’s name out of it, faces charges of failing to properly supervise and investigate as well as lying to a superior officer.
Each officer has worked for more than 20 years with the department and both are still active.
In April, Gomez filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court against the Police Department that claims police failed to investigate Lankford in the alleged kidnapping and accuses the department of negligence for keeping him on the force, despite earlier incidents.
In 1982 Lankford was suspended for 60 days for soliciting sex from an undercover Oakland police officer. He previously was sued by a fellow officer for allegedly attacking him in a dispute over a police report.
Gomez is also accusing Lankford of assault, false imprisonment and civil rights violations. She is seeking an unspecified amount of money as compensation.
Wednesday, a commissioner is expected to be assigned to investigate the charges, said Lt. Ed Geeter, the police department’s liaison to the commission.