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Jury impaneled in LAPD corruption trial

From CNN Producer Tony Frassrand

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A jury of seven women and five men will hear the case against four Los Angeles police officers accused of planting evidence and framing innocent people in the city's Rampart district.

The jury selection process moved swiftly Tuesday after Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Connor set time limits on questioning. Twelve jurors and six alternates were selected from a pool of 106 prospective jurors.

The racially diverse panel includes four Latinos, three blacks, three whites and two Asian Americans.

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The four defendants are Sgts. Edward Ortiz and Brian Liddy and officers Paul Harper and Michael Buchanan. Ortiz is Latino; Liddy, Harper and Buchanan are white. All four have been relieved of duty without pay.

In selecting the jurors, lawyers asked candidates a range of questions, including whether they could keep an open mind, how much they knew about the ongoing corruption scandal, if they had family or friends who might be police officers or gang members and what they do for a living.

"Would you keep an open mind, realizing that police officers have the same rights as you do, or would you hold them to a higher standard?" asked defense attorney Harland Braun.

"Have you been in a position to tell if someone is telling the truth or lying?" asked Deputy District Attorney Anne Ingalls.

Selected jurors said they would be fair and open-minded in weighing the evidence.

Excused jurors included a former detective who said he witnessed police lying to protect each other, and said, "Police officers are a gang, too."

The four defendants sat in silence as the jury pool dwindled.

They are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and a range of felony counts.

Ortiz, Liddy and Harper are accused of conspiring to frame on weapons charges a reputed gang member, whose conviction has been overturned.

Ortiz, Liddy and Buchanan are charged with conspiring to frame two gang members for assaulting a police officer.

Harper, Liddy and Buchanan are charged with perjury.

The four defendants were the first to be charged in the so-called Rampart scandal, named for the police station at the center of the LAPD's worst scandal.

Former Rampart Officer Rafael Perez, in exchange for leniency on a felony cocaine conviction, has told investigators that he and many of his colleagues routinely planted evidence, framed, and even shot innocent people.

Perez's former partner Nino Durden also is awaiting trial on six felony charges, including attempted murder.

Since Perez began detailing stories of officer misconduct, 106 criminal convictions have been overturned, and at least 70 officers are under investigation.

After the jury was sworn in, Judge Connor reminded the jurors that they "are judges, not investigators," and that they "cannot consider consequences" of their decision. She also reminded the jurors that they have to follow the law, whether they like it or not.

"Leave your bias outside, but don't leave your common sense outside," she said.

Opening statements are scheduled for Friday morning.

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Jury selection begins in LAPD police misconduct trial
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Five years later, O.J. Simpson says Los Angeles Police scandal has relevance for his own case
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Four LAPD officers go on trial with accuser in the spotlight
October 3, 2000
Los Angeles City Council agrees to federal police reforms
September 20, 2000
Current and former LA police officers sue department for $100 million
August 24, 2000
Los Angeles police officer pleads guilty to civil rights violations
August 18, 2000
Public defender: Up to 30,000 cases need review in light of LAPD scandal
August 10, 2000
Another conviction overturned in LAPD scandal
August 4, 2000
LAPD officer pleads guilty to federal civil rights charges
August 4, 2000
LAPD officers face administrative charges in controversial shooting
July 26, 2000

Department of Justice proposed consent decree
City of Los Angeles notes on proposed plan
Independent Analysis of the Los Angeles Police Department's Board of Inquiry Report on the Rampart Scandal

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