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LAPD officer pleads guilty to federal civil rights charges

From CNN Correspondent Charles Feldman in Los Angeles

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LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A Los Angeles Police Department officer has pleaded guilty in federal court to depriving a man of his civil rights by falsely arresting him on phony gun possession charges.

Edward Patrick Ruiz told a federal judge Friday that he and his partner lied when they claimed that Victor Jerome Tyson had tossed a revolver on the ground after they stopped him during a burglary investigation.

"A corrupt police officer does dishonor to his badge, to his colleagues and to the public that he once swore to protect and to serve," U.S. Attorney Alejandro Mayorkas said in a news release. "He is a criminal and nothing more."

Ruiz faces up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing is slated for early next year. His former partner is scheduled to go on trial next month.

The guilty plea comes against the backdrop of several investigations into alleged corruption within the LAPD. More than 70 current and former officers are under investigation.

This case is independent of the so-called Rampart probes--so called because most of the alleged police abuse occurred in the department's Rampart Division. This incident happened in the LAPD's 77th Division.

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