CANOGA PARK : Officer Pleads Not Guilty in Abuse Case
Los Angeles Police Officer Clark W. Baker, 34, accused of abusing a jaywalker in Canoga Park in July, has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge in Los Angeles Municipal Court.
If convicted, Baker faces a maximum of six months in County Jail and a $1,000 fine, Deputy City Atty. Alice Hand said. The traffic officer pleaded not guilty Monday, the same day a judge set an April 6 trial date.
Although the incident occurred in the San Fernando Valley, the case in being heard downtown because the filing was a result of a police internal affairs investigation, Hand said.
On July 19, Baker stopped Thomas Chavez, 22, after Chavez crossed the 21800 block of Roscoe Boulevard.
When Chavez refused to sign the citation--because, Chavez said later, he believed that it was an admission of guilt and he lacked the money to pay the fine--Baker allegedly attacked Chavez.
Witnesses told investigators that Baker, an 11-year veteran, slapped a pack of gum out of Chavez’s hand, twisted his wrists behind his back, forced him to the ground and kicked him in the stomach several times.
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