Rafael Pérez (police officer)

Infobox police officer
name = Rafael A. Pérez


caption = Rafael Pérez
born = birth year and age|1967
died =
badgenumber =
placeofbirth = Puerto Rico
placeofdeath =
nickname = "Ray"
department = Los Angeles Police Department
service = United States
serviceyears = 1989 - 1998
rank = Sworn in as an officer - 1989 - Police Officer 3 - 1994
awards =
relations = Divorced
laterwork = Convicted in connection to the LAPD Rampart Scandal (Plea bargin), Government witness

Rafael Antonio Pérez is the central figure in the LAPD Rampart Scandal. He was involved in the coverup of a $722,000 bank robbery, shot and framed Javier Ovando, and stole and resold at least $800,000 of cocaine from LAPD evidence lockers. [citeweb|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0003/12/sm.01.html|title=CNN.com|accessdate=2008-08-04] He is accused of being a member of the Bloods, a notorious Los Angeles gang, and murdering rapper Notorious B.I.G. at the behest of Suge Knight of Death Row Records.citeweb|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18160791/|title=Notorius B.I.G.'s Family files suit against Los Angeles|accessdate=2008-08-04] When Pérez was finally arrested, he implicated 70 other Rampart Division officers in various forms of misconduct, ranging from bad shootings to drinking beer and alcohol on the job. At least 106 LAPD arrests were overturned based on Pérez's testimony. [citeweb|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/lapd/scandal/cron.html|title=PBS Rampart Scandal Timeline|accessdate=2008-08-04]

Early years

Rafael Antonio Pérez was born in Puerto Rico in 1967 and moved to the United States as a young boy. After several moves, he was raised by his mother in Philadelphia. According to his lawyer, Winston Kevin McKesson, Pérez "remembers standing on a street corner as a child, watching drug dealers and dreaming of one day being the cop to arrest them."

Pérez graduated high school in 1985 and joined the United States Marine Corps. He was hired by the LAPD in 1989.citeweb|url=http://www.truthinjustice.org/20001001mag-lapd.html|title=Truth in Justice|accessdate=2008-08-04]

Joining LAPD Rampart CRASH Division

After serving on routine patrol duties, Pérez was transferred to a narcotics unit in 1992. In 1995 he was transferred to Rampart CRASH, an anti-gang unit given a long leash by the LAPD. Pérez gained a reputation as a tough and effective officer, valued for his fluency in Spanish and his knowledge of L.A.'s gangs. According to fellow CRASH officer Ethan Cohan, officers would bet on which team would find a gun on a gang member each night. Cohan is quoted as saying, "Pérez always won. I just thought, this guy is really good."

Timeline of criminal activities

Pérez, and his partner Nino Durden famously shot and framed an unarmed gang member Javier Ovando. Ovando, who was left paralyzed, was sentenced to 23 years in prison based on the officers' false testimony.

On August 25, 1998, Pérez, then at age 31 and a nine-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, was arrested for stealing six pounds of cocaine from a department property room. (The theft was originally suspected to be an attempt at framing Frank Lyga in retaliation for the shooting of Pérez's friend, Kevin Gaines.) [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/lapd/scandal/cron.html#rage] ] The cocaine was estimated to be worth $800,000 on the street.

Criminal charges

February 2000

In February 2000, Pérez was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing 8 pounds of cocaine from an LAPD evidence locker. At his sentencing, Pérez read a statement in which he said, "I cheated on my wife. I cheated on my employer, and I cheated on all of you, the people of Los Angeles." The text of his statement can be found at citeweb|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/lapd/scandal/statement.html|title=PBS.org|accessdate=2008-08-04.

July 24, 2001 release

On July 24, 2001 -- Pérez was released from prison and placed on parole.

December 17, 2001 -- federal charges

Pérez pled guilty to new charges resulting from the shooting of Javier Ovando. He was charged with conspiracy to violate Ovando's civil rights, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He went on to serve 5 years in Federal prison.

October 31, 2006 felony count

On October 31, 2006, Pérez pleaded no contest to a felony count of perjury before the Torrance Superior Court.

Pérez, who legally changed his name to Ray Lopez, was arrested in July by Department of Motor Vehicles investigators while visiting his federal parole officer in Inglewood. Pérez pleaded no contest to lying in his application for a California driver's license on June 30, 2005.

Pérez was sentenced to an additional three years probation and 300 hours of community service. [citeweb|url=http://da.co.la.ca.us/mr/103106a.htm|title=2006 Felony|accessdate=2008-08-04]

Questions of Credibility

The credibility of Perez has been undermined by his testimony in several internal affairs investigations in which three officers, including Brian Liddy, accused of crimes or misconduct were found not guilty or the charges were dropped. citeweb|url=http://www.streetgangs.com/topics/rampart/051300perez.html|title=Perez errors|accessdate=2008-08-04] citeweb|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2005/aug/07/local/me-rampart7|title=3 Sue over Rampart Scandal|accessdate=2008-08-04] He has failed several lie-detector tests and has made several errors in his testimony in the past. The issue of Perez's credibility has already led to at least 5 cases of either dropped charges or acquital.

Ongoing investigation into the murder of The Notorious B.I.G.

On April 16, 2007 relatives of rapper The Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls/Christopher Wallace, filed a wrongful death suit against the city of Los Angeles, former LAPD Officer Rafael Pérez and his partner former Officer Nino Durden, seeking unspecified general, compensatory and punitive monetary damages. The lawsuit was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court by Wallace's mother, his widow Faith Evans, and his two children.

The lawsuit states that Pérez, Nino Durden, their partner former Officer David Mack, and "certain unknown persons" were responsible for the death of Christopher Wallace. The rapper was shot to death on March 9, 1997, as he and Sean Combs left the 11th Annual Soul Train Music Awards after-party held at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. The lawsuit states the killing was committed "in a very efficient, organized and professional manner, suggesting that a high degree of coordination and planning preceded his murder." It further states that Pérez admitted to the LAPD that he and David Mack "conspired to murder, and participated in the murder of Christopher Wallace." Both Pérez and Nino Durden were on duty during the night of March 9,.

Wallace's murder is believed to have been in retaliation for the murder of Tupac Shakur. Tupac Shakur was a member of Death Row Records, run by Marion "Suge" Knight. Knight is known to have hired off-duty Rampart cops for security such as Kevin Gaines, who was shot to death by fellow LAPD officer Frank Lyga on March 18, 1997. Knight, who grew up in Compton, is well known for his ties to the Bloods. Following his arrest, detectives found several photos of Rafael Pérez flashing Blood gang signs. The connection between Pérez and the murder of Christopher Wallace has long been a source of speculation by the LAPD.

The current wrongful death lawsuit states that Pérez was a member of "a violent street gang associated with Death Row Records." and that he was partly responsible for Wallace's death

Notes