LAPD Officer Who Kicked, Punched Suspect On Tape Avoids Prison With Plea Deal
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A police officer who was found to have violated department policies when he kicked and punched a suspect in a videotaped arrest struck a plea deal with prosecutors to avoid prison time.
Officer Richard Garcia was determined to have violated LAPD policies when he kicked and punched Clinton Alford Jr. by the department and the civilian Police Commission, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office came down even harder by taking the rare step of filing a felony assault charge against an on-duty officer.
Garcia had faced up to three years in jail if convicted. But the case has quietly come to an end.
Under the plea agreement reached with prosecutors this spring, the Los Angeles Times reports Garcia pleaded no contest to the felony charge in exchange for avoiding jail. He also agreed to complete community service and donate $500 to a charity by late May 2017, according to the newspaper.
Garcia would then be allowed to enter a new plea to a misdemeanor charge that would replace the felony and be placed on two years of probation, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office told the Times.
The plea bargain was never publicly announced by District Attorney Jackie Lacey, but she told the Times she felt the agreement was appropriate.
She declined to detail the reasons for the plea, but said prosecutors generally look at a range of information including the seriousness of the victim's injuries, whether the defendant has a prior record and the credibility of the witnesses.
Alford -- who has pleaded not guilty to charges including pimping rape and assault with a deadly weapon -- remains in custody.
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