City of Los Angeles v. Superior Court (57 Cal. App. 4th 1506, 1997)

Opinion

EPSTEIN, Acting P. J.

The City of Los Angeles (City) seeks our review of a trial court order excluding statements made by a police officer who was not informed that he was under investigation nor told the nature of the investigation. We conclude that the officer is protected under the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (Gov. Code, § 3303 et seq., hereafter the Act; further code citations are to the Government Code unless otherwise indicated.) We also conclude that the trial court’s order excluding the officer’s statements in response to questioning during the City’s case-in-chief was not an abuse of discretion. We modify the order, however, to allow introduction of the statements for impeachment.

Factual and Procedural Summary

Officer Merinio Labio, real party in interest, was on duty as a Los Angeles airport police officer during the night of January 18, 1996, and the following morning. Lieutenant Martinez was the watch commander on duty at the time. The airport police is an agency of the City. During this shift, a fatal traffic accident occurred on Imperial Highway.

Shortly after the accident, Lieutenant Martinez and Sergeant Hoffman stopped at Lucky’s Donut Shop. The owner of the shop, Mr. Chau, told them he had seen a male Filipino officer drive past the accident scene in a marked police vehicle and, without stopping to render aid, the officer had proceeded to Dough Boy’s Donut Shop. Shortly after this conversation, Lieutenant Martinez checked the deployment log to determine whether any officers on duty matched Mr. Chau’s description. Officer Labio was the only Filipino officer on duty. Sergeant Hoffman then went to Dough Boy’s and asked an employee there whether an officer had patronized the restaurant at the time of the accident. Sergeant Hoffman said he told this employee that he was trying to determine whether an officer had left a ticket book at the establishment. The employee confirmed that a male Filipino had been there at about the time of the accident. This information was related to Lieutenant Martinez who also spoke to Sergeant Montgomery, Officer Labio’s immediate supervisor, to determine whether Officer Labio had permission to use a City vehicle. Lieutenant Martinez discovered that Officer Labio did not have permission to use a vehicle that evening and asked Sergeant Montgomery to write a report documenting that fact.

Later the same morning, a radio call was issued instructing Officer Labio to come to the watch commander’s office. Officer Labio responded to the call. Upon Officer Labio’s arrival, Lieutenant Martinez immediately began questioning him concerning his whereabouts and use of a City vehicle during his shift. Lieutenant Martinez also asked Officer Labio about the route he had taken in traveling to Dough Boy’s. Sergeant Hoffman was present during this questioning.

Lieutenant Martinez had not informed Officer Labio that he was under investigation. Lieutenant Martinez did not give him Miranda warnings or inform him of his rights under the Act.

When Lieutenant Martinez questioned Officer Labio, he knew that passing by the scene of the accident without stopping to render aid was a serious offense and that the officer could face disciplinary action if the allegation were sustained. Lieutenant Martinez testified that if passing by the scene of the accident were a felony, at the time he interviewed Officer Labio he would have had probable cause to take him in custody. No other officer was interviewed by Lieutenant Martinez concerning his or her whereabouts at the time of the accident.

When Lieutenant Martinez questioned Officer Labio, he also realized the matter would have to be forwarded to the department’s internal affairs division (IAD). Following the interview, Lieutenant Martinez filed a personnel complaint with the IAD.

Officer Labio was interviewed by IAD. Prior to his interview with IAD, he was fully informed of his rights under the Act. He was represented by counsel at this interview, and his counsel objected to introduction of statements made at the interview with Lieutenant Martinez. The basis of the objection was that Officer Labio had not been informed of his rights under the Act.

Officer Labio was terminated from his position effective June 14, 1996. Termination was based on allegations that he used a City vehicle without authorization, that he failed to stop at the scene of an accident, that he made an unauthorized detour to a doughnut shop, that his misconduct was reflected badly in the press, that he made false and misleading statements related to his actions on or about January 18, 1996 (i.e. at the interview with Lieutenant Martinez), and that he included false information in his daily field report.

Officer Labio requested an administrative hearing to review his termination. At the hearing he sought to exclude his statements made at the interrogation by Lieutenant Martinez on January 19, 1996, together with all evidence flowing from the questioning. The basis of that motion was Officer Labio’s claim that Lieutenant Martinez had not advised him that he was under investigation, as required by section 3303, subdivision (c). The hearing officer ruled that he lacked jurisdiction to determine whether the evidence should be excluded. Following the procedure specified in section 3309.5, Officer Labio petitioned the superior court for relief. The court ultimately issued its order excluding all evidence related to the interview of Officer Labio on January 19, 1996. The City then petitioned for our review. We issued an alternative writ.

Discussion

I

We granted an alternative writ in this case because the issue is of widespread public interest and because the trial court’s order prevents petitioner from presenting a substantial portion of its case by excluding all information obtained during Lieutenant Martinez’s interview with Officer Labio. (See Omaha Indemnity Co. v. Superior Court (1989) 209 Cal.App.3d 1266, 1272 [258 Cal.Rptr. 66] [listing factors to consider in determining the propriety of an alternative writ].) Although generally an appeal is sufficient for relief, extraordinary relief is justified in this case in order to prevent substantial expenses from being imposed on the City and public in the event the City’s arguments are entirely or substantially successful. (See City of Glendale v. Superior Court (1993) 18 Cal.App.4th 1768, 1777 [23 Cal.Rptr.2d 305]; City of Oakland v. Superior Court (1996) 45 Cal.App.4th 740, 750 [53 Cal.Rptr.2d 120].)

II

The Act provides procedural guarantees to public safety officers under investigation. (Pasadena Police Officers Assn. v. City of Pasadena (1990) 51 Cal.3d 564, 572 [273 Cal.Rptr. 584, 797 P.2d 608].) Police officers are included within the protected groups. The purpose of the Act is to maintain “ ‘stable employer-employee relations[] between public safety employees and their employers.’ ” (People v. Velez (1983) 144 Cal.App.3d 558, 564 [192 Cal.Rptr. 686].) “‘[T]he act is concerned primarily with affording individual police officers certain procedural rights during the course of proceedings which might lead to the imposition of penalties against them.’ ” (Los Angeles Police Protective League v. City of Los Angeles (1995) 35 Cal.App.4th 1535, 1540 [42 Cal.Rptr.2d 23], quoting White v. County of Sacramento (1982) 31 Cal.3d 676, 681 [183 Cal.Rptr. 520, 646 P.2d 191].) While granting certain rights to police officers, the Act balances the interests of the public in maintaining the integrity of the police force with the interest of the police officer in receiving fair treatment. (Pasadena Police Officers Assn. v. City of Pasadena, supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 568.)

The parties dispute the applicability of section 3303, subdivision (c) to the present case. The City argues the subdivision does not apply because the case involves a commanding officer’s routine questioning concerning the activities of an on-duty officer, excluded from the scope of the statute by section 3303, subdivision (i).

Section 3303 provides in pertinent part: “When any public safety officer is under investigation and subjected to interrogation by his or her commanding officer, or any other member of the employing public safety department, that could lead to punitive action, the interrogation shall be conducted under the following conditions. For the purpose of this chapter, punitive action means any action that may lead to dismissal, demotion, suspension, reduction in salary, written reprimand, or transfer for purposes of punishment. [