The Times is reporting that an off-duty LAPD officer was detained over the weekend along with a member the Rollin’ 60’s who had a ghost gun and drugs in his possession.
An off-duty Los Angeles police officer was briefly detained over the weekend while he was with an associate of the Rollin’ 60s Crips who was found with drugs and a “ghost gun,” according to a department source.
Police are investigating not only the officer’s actions but also those of his colleagues who detained him, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement to The Times.
Late Saturday, 77th Street Division gang enforcement officers spotted two men standing next to a parked vehicle in South L.A., the department source said. The officers searched the vehicle and found narcotics and an untraceable “ghost gun” inside a bag, the source said.
DQuan Clarke, 28, of Los Angeles, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a concealed firearm but not the narcotics that were found. Clarke was released Monday on $35,000 bail, according to court records.
According to The Times, the off-duty officer identified himself to investigating officers as a member of LAPD’s Southwest Division. He denied knowing anything about the narcotics or the gun.
An LAPD spokesperson confirmed to The Times that both the detained officer and the gang unit officers were under investigation by Internal Affairs.
An LAPD spokesperson confirmed that both the detained officer and the gang unit officers were under investigation by Internal Affairs but said she was limited in what she could say about an ongoing investigation. She did not say why the gang officers initiated the stop or what prompted investigators to take a closer look at their actions.
Investigators from the LAPD’s Internal Affairs unit who were summoned to the scene were unable to refute the officer’s claims that he was unaware of the contraband inside the vehicle, the source said.
LAPD policy prohibits officers from associating with known gang members or others engaged in criminal activity.
Police Commission Steve Soboroff said undercover officers often encounter gang members in the course of their duties.
“On its face, it’s very troubling, but it’s irresponsible to deal with this stuff on its face when there’s more information to uncover,” Soboroff told The Times. “And one (question) would be, is the officer undercover, was he on a mission? And one would be, is he communicating with a gang member who isn’t doing anything wrong?”
Clarke is scheduled to appear on Sept 22 at the Los Angeles Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles, according to bail records.
Read the full article on LATIMES.com.
City News Service contributed to this report.
1 Comment
This Cop is a criminal, like Rafael Perez! Dirty fucker being protected by the dirty Captain at southwest division and some dirty IA Cops! Guy was dealing drugs in our neighborhood! And some dirty people in charge at lapd going to protect this guy?