Long Beach : Ex-Police Officer’s Trial to Begin Friday

Trial is scheduled to begin Friday for a former Long Beach police officer accused of shooting a motorist in Fountain Valley during a traffic dispute.

Alan B. Ice, 45, of Fountain Valley has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of assault with a firearm and discharging a firearm at an occupied vehicle. Ice, who was arraigned last week in Superior Court in Santa Ana, could face a 10-year prison term if convicted. Ice is free on his own recognizance.

Ice is accused of wounding Neil Cramer, 36, a Santa Ana carpenter, on Sept. 28, 1991, after a confrontation. Cramer, who was accompanied in his truck by his fiancee and his 11-year-old daughter, said the incident began when he swerved to avoid a fallen cyclist. At a traffic light, he said, he and Ice exchanged words.

Ice has maintained that at the light, he saw Cramer reaching for something. Fearing for his own safety, Ice pulled out his 9-millimeter handgun, which discharged accidentally as he tried to leave the scene, he said. The bullet struck Cramer’s shoulder, collapsing a lung and lodging near his heart. He was released from the hospital several days later.

In November, Ice, a 21-year veteran of the force, was fired by the Long Beach Police Department for firing his weapon “intentionally and without justification.�