Officer in Brutality Case Says He Lied : Police: He testifies that he felt compelled to protect his partner, now retired, who is accused of beating two transients.

By CHARISSE JONES

May 31, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

A Los Angeles police officer testified Thursday that he initially lied to superiors to shield partner Lance L. Braun from brutality allegations but later felt compelled to break an unwritten code of silence and tell the truth.

Officer Scott Kennedy’s admissions came during a preliminary hearing for Braun, a 20-year veteran of the force who retired days before the district attorney’s office accused him of excessive force in the beating of two transients on a Pacoima street corner last August.

After hearing testimony from Kennedy and the two alleged victims, Municipal Judge David M. Horwitz determined that there was sufficient evidence to bring Braun to trial. He is scheduled for arraignment in Superior Court on June 13.

Braun, who was charged in the wake of the Rodney G. King affair, sat silently through the two-hour proceeding as his former partner described the events surrounding their encounter with Theresa Carney, 25, and William Gable, 44.

After the two victims reported the incident to the Foothill Division, Kennedy said he lied to the sergeant to protect Braun, even though he believed his partner had used unnecessary force with a baton. Kennedy said he insisted in a discussion with Sgt. Stacey C. Koon that “we were never there” in the vicinity of the incident.

“Being raised by an LAPD officer . . . it’s basically an unwritten rule you don’t roll over, lie, tell on a partner or companion,” he testified.

But Kennedy said he came forward one week later to set the record straight with supervisors. “I felt I had to tell the truth,” he said.

Braun was suspended for 22 days after an investigation by Koon--himself a defendant in the King beating case.

Reacting to Kennedy’s testimony, police spokesman Lt. Fred Nixon said the department’s management does not condone rules of silence and “expects officers to be straightforward.” To do otherwise, he said, could be considered “serious misconduct.”

Nixon said he is certain that Kennedy’s acknowledgement that he initially covered up for Braun will be reviewed by department investigators.

In his testimony, Kennedy said he and Braun were patrolling an area known for drug sales, loitering and prostitution when they passed a group of people standing on the corner of Van Nuys Boulevard and Pala Avenue.

“We asked them to leave the corner a couple times,” said Kennedy. When they refused, he said, Braun got his baton, walked over to Carney and pushed her. He then turned his attention to Gable, who was standing next to the fence of a housing project.

As Braun approached the man, Kennedy said, his own attention was temporarily diverted by a passing car filled with youths whom he believed to be gang members. When he turned back around, Kennedy said, “I saw Officer Braun walking away from Mr. Gable. . . . He (Gable) was kneeling down, hanging onto the chain link fence.”

“Did he appear injured?” asked Deputy Dist. Atty. Jodi B. Rafkin, who is prosecuting the case.

“He appeared to have some difficulty in standing,” Kennedy said. “Yes. He appeared injured.”

Kennedy said neither Gable nor Carney spoke or acted aggressively toward Braun.

Under questioning by Braun’s attorney, however, he admitted that the only use of force he had actually witnessed was when Braun pushed the woman.

Carney testified that as she sat slumped on the ground, trying to catch her breath, she watched Braun walk over to Gable “and beat him repeatedly with his baton, and kicked him, over and over and over.”

Outside court, prosecutor Rafkin said testimony clearly showed that excessive force was used for no valid reason.

“Neither of these individuals did anything that was threatening, provocative or that would have caused Braun to use force,” she said. “There are a number of levels you go through before you use force. You don’t automatically get out of your car and start beating people.”

After the hearing, reporters asked Braun’s attorney, Larry H. Layton, whether the controversy over the King beating will hurt his client.

“I believe he’s totally innocent and I totally believe that I’m going to have to go through a jury trial to prove it because of the atmosphere going on right now,” he said. “I don’t believe all jurors believe all police are bad. I believe we can get a fair trial.”

Layton also contended that there were discrepancies in testimony given by Carney and Gable during the preliminary hearing and in earlier statements to attorneys and police about how many times Gable was struck and whether he was kicked by Braun.