By Thomas Himes
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
WEST COVINA, Calif. — The FBI is investigating allegations of civil rights abuses by at least one member of the West Covina Police Department, an FBI spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said agents are conducting a “narrowly focused” probe of allegations lodged against the West Covina Police Department.
West Covina Councilman Mike Touhey said the FBI opened an investigation after allegations of police misconduct were made public by this newspaper.
“I have a variety of memos” about the FBI’s investigation, Touhey said. “I believe it’s regarding that particular instance and what the people were saying that everyone was trying to cover up.”
Police Chief Frank Wills said he asked the FBI to investigate the conduct of one officer.
“The FBI is just investigating a very specific allegation against a single member of this organization,” Wills said.
West Covina police Officer Tyler Kennedy was suspended with pay in January for the second time in less than a year after a 49-year-old alleged rape victim said the sex crimes investigator propositioned her.
No one familiar with the investigation would say whether the FBI was investigating Kennedy’s conduct. Kennedy’s attorney, Saku Ethir, did not immediately return two messages left on her cell phone.
West Covina Assistant City Manager Chris Freeland said this week Kennedy’s employment status has not changed since earlier this year.
In a separate instance, officials suspended and demoted Kennedy in 2009 for carrying out an intimate relationship with a different alleged rape victim, according to court documents, sources and officials.
Sexual battery charges against that woman’s ex-husband were dismissed after prosecutors learned of her relationship with the investigating officer, Kennedy, Deputy District Attorney Gary Hearnsberger said.
But that was not before Kennedy appeared in court and asked a judge to imprison the woman’s husband without a bail, according to court documents. At the time of the hearing, the man had already been released from jail, according to court documents.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lesley Green ordered the man jailed on $100,000 bail, according to court documents.
In May, the woman’s ex-husband filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging Kennedy arrested him on false charges in order to have a relationship with his ex-wife.
“For the FBI to undertake an investigation, it vindicates my client and all the allegations we made in the lawsuit,” said the man’s attorney, Arnoldo Casillas.
“It’s the criminal equivalent of what we’re pursuing in civil court,” Casillas said of the FBI probe.
West Covina Mayor Shelley Sanderson declined to comment on the specifics of the case.
“I’m aware of some things, but I don’t know what I can say,” Sanderson said.
“I think the residents would appreciate that I’m on the cautious side and I’m not putting the city in any jeopardy,” she said.
Sanderson referred questions to City Manager Andy Pasmant. Pasmant declined to comment, saying be was on vacation.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to press charges in all 12 rape cases that were presented by the West Covina Police Department in 2009, according to documents provided by the District Attorney’s Office.
Congresswoman Judy Chu, D-El Monte, wrote a letter to Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley in February asking for a review of the 12 cases. That probe continues, officials said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is also continuing their investigation of allegations made against Kennedy and the West Covina Police Department, officials said.
Once FBI agents complete their investigation, it will be presented to Department of Justice officials in Washington, D.C., who will decide whether to file federal charges.
Touhey said he doesn’t care who is investigating so long as the truth comes out.
“I believe the facts are the facts regardless of which agency is doing the investigation,” Touhey said. “No matter what, there’s still going to be people who feel they didn’t get a fair shake.”
Copyright 2010 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Los Angeles Newspaper Group, Inc.