LAPD officer at heart of corruption scandal gets 5 years in prison

Perez: 'I am truly, truly sorry'

February 25, 2000
Web posted at: 11:29 p.m. EST (0429 GMT)

In this story: Apologies and warnings Police legal group denounces Perez RELATED STORIES, SITES

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The man at the center of the Los Angeles Police Department corruption scandal, Rafael Perez, tearfully apologized to his wife and the community after he was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing cocaine from a police evidence locker.

Perez, 32, has already spent two years behind bars.

The 10-year police veteran was given a lenient sentence because he agreed to cooperate with the investigation into criminal conduct by other members of the LAPD. That probe has expanded with assistance from the FBI and Justice Department.

VIDEO CNN's Charles Feldman reports on the sentencing of an officer at the center of a corruption scandal. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K   MESSAGE BOARD LAPD probe

To date, 20 officers have been relieved of duty, although none has been indicted, and another 50 are under suspicion.

Perez was a member of the LAPD's anti-gang CRASH unit in the Rampart Division. He alleges he and other officers planted drugs and weapons on innocent people. Perez has been given limited immunity.

So far 39 convictions have been overturned as a result of the investigation, with prosecutors determining the police-provided evidence used during trial was unreliable.

After sentencing, Perez asked for and was granted permission to make a statement to the community.

"The atrocities that were committed by myself and those who stand accused are unforgivable acts. The city of Los Angeles had, and has, a right -- among other things -- to a fair and just system of policing," Perez said.

"It didn't occur to me that I was destroying lives -- the lives of those whom we victimized and their families who loved them," he said. "To those people who I have hurt, I tell you with each and every part of my soul, I am truly, truly sorry."

Perez also had a message for "the greenest rookie cops," warning them against leaving "a landscape of broken lives in their wake."

"Whoever chases monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster himself," he said. "The moment you cross that first line it's difficult to turn back."

The disgraced former police officer said he has now turned to God.

Perez broke down crying twice when he addressed his wife, Denise, "who I love beyond all reason for having stood by me through all this."

She sat stoically in court with other family members.

After the sentencing hearing, the Police Protection League, which represents rank-and-file LAPD officers, held a news conference to denounce Perez for "egregious crimes" that inflicted deep wounds on the community.

Ted Hunt, president of the group, accused Perez of "rupturing ties between the community and police."

Correspondent Charles Feldman contributed to this report.

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The Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles County District Attorney
Federal Bureau of Investigation

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