·.
~.t . Kitchen
Devonshire Division LAPD
Etiwanda at Devonshire
Northridge, CA 91325
Dear Lt . Kitchen :
ree4 7( 2q-/q I
~{ =t= .c.
I regret that we were unable to complete "your rcvlew " of my formal
complflint on April 22, 199]. Fir.st, T filr:!d the complai.nt with the
Internal Affairs people trying to be ver;/y specific when listing my
complaints . I went into great detail with dates , times and specific
actions of officers on each of those occasions . I spent 37 minutes
on the telephone with Officer Rubacavn of JnternaJ Affairs . lie
£oreworn~d mE tnat I would be speaking to the Cciptain . of Devon­shire
Division , reviewing my statement . Instead Sgt . Thomas called .
I requested to speak to the Commander of the station and was referrec
to you , the Watch Commander for the Crash Unit .
When I arrived at the station and saw the 1/2 page typewritten . reporJ
that you were referrring to, supported by the fact that you wished
to discuss only the incident of April 5, 1991 , I realized that my
complaint had been great~ edited or disregarded .
By limiting our discussion to April 5, 1991, my complaints of
1) illegal entry on December l, 1990
2) illegal search and seizure of property
3) removal of two teenage girls from my home without a warrant
4) unnecessary detention (for 8 hours)
5) misrepresentation of information
6) threats and harassment
7) inclusion into a gang file maintained by Offr . Vaughn
8) withholding my daughter ' s school I . D. from her
9) libel - my dau ghter was called " slut "
were obviously disregarded from the report .
My complaint went on to list the lies , deceptions and inaccuracies
leading upto the arrest of my daughter on the morning (12 : 45) of
January 11 , 1991 , as witnessed and reported by 3 officers on duty at
Devonshire Division at the time o f the arrest and my personal
observations upon my arrival at 3 : 45 a . m. that morning .
. ,
.
Also not included in your report of my complaint tointernal Affairs
was the fact that my daughter has been stopped, numerous times,
while driving on the streets of Granada Hills and told "you aren't
breaking any laws, it ' s not past curfew, you're not doing anything
wrong, we just want you to know we are watching you and your car. We
'klow you ' ll eventually do something stupid . "
Nor did your report refer to the following items as to the
April5 arrest of Mary and the general conduct of Officer Vaughn
while survailing my house or in the station both in and outside
of my presence.
1) the detention "for questioning" of a minor in a locked room
alone, without a phone call , counsel or being advised as to
the purpose of her detention -- for 3 hours .
2) the withholding of information as to the specific charges made
against my daughter from me .
3) the personal threat of Officer Vaughn to both my daughter and I
to confiscate our personal property, seize it as evidence and
"when I 'm through with it , I ' ll personally take it to the
Police Auction and watch them sell it so you'll never see your
pretty little car again--MISSY" .
4) cursing and punching a steel file cabinet three times because . ..
"That S.O.B. [spoken out by Vaughn in a very loud, angry voice
and very red in the face] knows where that f---ing car
is . I want it -- I'll get it , trust me . I'll get your pretty
little car if it ' s the last thing I do . " and then he punched the
cau.i.nel: three Limes with a clenched fist .
5) incorrect information posted on the ''Property Record"- Booking
Sheet ( a copy of which is attached) .
6) False charges made on January 11, 1991 (which were dropped)
used as the basis for the Warrant issued on April 5. At the time
Offr . Vaughn said to me "her release was a mistake. Now, with
this warrant, we fixed it so she won ' t get out for a long time."
When I asked what the specific charge was he would only reply
t hat it had to do with the Jan 11 ' fiasco '.
7) Officer Vaughn was heard by me on 3 ochl\sions to say
"MARY ADAMS IS THE TUPPER STREET SLUT"
"MARY ADAMS-- that little slut fromTupper St" . . .
8) When Officer Vaughn said, waiving the warrant in my face, "This
paper is going to put Mary and her gang friends away for a long
time", I said Mary is not a gang member. Offr . Vaughn
responded -- "MARY IS THE GANG!!!"
. .
So there will be no further misunderstanding , Lt . Kitchen, I would
like to go into just a little bit of specific here as to these
complaints .
AS TO DECEMBER 1 , 1990 :
I was awakened by the sound of banging on my front door , the shout
of "POLICE" followed by the forceful opening of my front door . I
had decorated for Christmas already . I had bells hanging on the
inside of the door which jingle only when the door is swung open .
The closet door, behind the front door has a huge hole in it from
being smashed by the locks on the front door . Before I Gould get up
there were 3 guns and flashlights in my face . (I have not even
allowed my children to have water pistols) . One policeman was
carrying a large fire extinguisher to ' subdue my dog ' who by the way
is blind and partial l y crippled and cowering under a chair .
Without my permiss ion and without a warrant my house was searched, th~
lock on my son ' s bedroom door was picked, items were taken from my
home (pictures, wallets, letters) . Other than myself there was one
girl asleep in my house. She too was awaken with the gun and flash­light
in her face . I was told my house was a gang crash pad (WRONG),
that I was harboring a suspect of murder (WRONG -- I didnot, do not
know him, have never seen him nor has he ever been in my house) . I
was told my 13 year old son was ' heavy into gangs ' by Sgt . Thomas
(WRONG) . We were in the process of repainting his room and he was
goofing around with some of my left over spray paint and showing me
how kids tag . I had planned to paint that wall Saturday .
I called Mary, she came home and the two girls were taken to the
station for ' questioning '. Sgt . Thomas told me not to come to the
station, that they would call when I could come get the girls. I
was assured that they were not being arrested, they just wanted the
girls to come down , answer some questions and look at some pictures -
'" it won ' t take long" . When I asked Sgt . Thomas if he had a search war­rant
his response was " Do youwant me to get one. We d on ' t need one ,
we h ave probable cause to be here ."
\.~f
At 7 : 00VI went to Devonshire Division . The girls had been gone
3 hours . I sat in the lobby for 2 hours and Officer Vaughn sent word
out to me that "she ' d better go to work for Mary ... we ' re not through
with her yet" . As a result of this, Mary lost her job .
Mary was not released unt il 11 AM (8 hours) and when she came home
it was to give me the notice that she was an ' associate of Tupper
Street ' . She said that she had been told she needed to sign a releas
so she could go home--she signed it a n d then they took her picture
and t humb printed her . Then OfficerVaughn and Sgt. Thomas informed
her that shewas now being listed in the gang file .
. .
Approximately one week later I came to the station , after three
phone calls, asking you , sir, for my daughter ' s school I . D. out
of her organizer that had been confiscated from our home . You in­formed
me that it was "locked up in property ... being
held as evidence ... pursuant to a warrant" . You explained that you
were n e w to this position , that you had no authority o/ver the
Crash Unit -- they work independently , that you didn ' t really know
what their cases were .
NOW AS TO JANUARY 11 , 1991
My daughter was seen talking to Offj cer.s Vaugh\ and I lardy
in W.i.nchcll ' s P.arking lot between 10 and 10 : 30 p . m. on January 11, by
many witnesses~ She was wearing a teal blazer , short black skirt, a
hat and had just had her nails done that day . Mary was seen by 6
witness at 11 or 11 : 05 walking into first . Carrow ' s and 10 minutes late
into Denney ' s where she stayed unti 12 : 30 when she called me at home.
I informed her that Officer Hardy had called . She immediately 'stopped
into Devonshire Division' where she was still · dressed neatly, still
wearing a full set of new , long nails and was arrested . Officer Hardy ,
Mc Clard and the Booking Officer were all very appologetic and sur­prised
by this action, stating that it was obvious she had not been
in a figh t and the booking officer made the comment to Mary "I ' ve
never booked anyone on this c h ar9e - - l·h i R i ~ j us I: • • l cs:.:011 . "
Mary was NOT read her rights at any time by anyone . No one would
tell me who the arresting officer was or what the charges were . All
the kids who had participated in the ' fight ' were released . The three
young men in possession of guns at the party were released . Mary was
accused by Tory Ball of driving the get away car for the guys who
started the fight .
At 7 : 00 A. M. Mary was transported to Sylmar J . H. in a black and
white tra i velling in excess of 90 mph north o~n Balboa Blvd
without benefit of siren or red lights flashing (I was following-- at
a slower speed) .
Mary was released into my custody on Jan 12 -- all c hArgeA dropped ,
no court appearance rcqu.irc<l .
Between Jan 12 and April 5 Mary was stopped at least once a week
when driving her car as mentioned before . On three occasions a boy
with an identical car was alsostopped ~ IV-JJ::>
questioned about "MaryAdams ' infamous 5 . 0 '' . On one of these occasions
Mary was told "Watch your step , slut . I ' m going to get you and your
infamous 5 . 0 " . Each time Mary was driving or riding in her car , not
citedand released without citation .
* one of these witnesses was asked by Vaughn as Mary
drove away , " Why do you talk to that gang slut, Mary?"
The basis for my formal complaint was :
I believe that we Americans have certain rights, one of which
is innocence until proof of guilt . I believe and have raised my
children tobelieve that the police are ourfriends and that
they are there to protect and serve us.
I definitely feel that my rights, my daughter ' s rights have been
disregarded. I feel that my daughter has been falsely accused, per­secuted,
arrested, incarcerated, judged because of the assumption th~
she is a member of Tupper Street . .. a fact that has not been, cannot
be proven because it is not true .
I do not sleep the night through because of fear that my house
will be crashed, that Iwill be awa ken with guns in my face .
I do not feel all policA officers are bad . There are many fine ,
caring people on your staff . Unfortunately it is my opinion that my
family is being subjected to unjust and over zealous opinions (un­substantiated
~ !might add) of a few on your staff . This is the basis
for my fears; concern for mychildren 's and my own safety . It has
caused sever mental stress, it has led to the withdrawal from puolic
high school, the loss of employment by my daughter, it has caused
a heart attack for Mary ' s father and an irregularity of my
circulatory system due to sever mental stress .
c . c . :
Police Chief Gates
Mayor T . B1."3C.lcy
Mr . A. Reynolds , D. A.
IraReiner, D. A.
L . A. City Council
L . A. P . D . Commission
L . A. P . D . Internal Affairs
Christopher Commission
Ira Sal2er , P ublic Defender
Patrick Sullivan, P . I .
Harold Blaisch , Atty
,. '
' ') ' J ._,
....
, I ,
,. 'Y }.·
, I
j.
I
t~ ~
-~~~~
________________________ ___ / ---- - ---- - ---- ------- ------
/
600KINGNO. U.O. l OC. BKD. STATE
,; ·:> -i .. ~, I r: ..
ARRESl:E'S LAST NAME FIR Si I su~.
SEX OESCJ::NT HAIR
,.-
VEH. UC. NO. STA TE
BIRTHPLACE R 0 s E B E F;: G
nr;•Ff' (Y .I
R.O.
OIVISl0"' ANO DETAIL AAAESTING
AARAJG/\t. DATC
EMPlOV:R I SCHOOL ('~ .. J "' 1- S' '··is:
: (''
l •
Ht=IGHT- ..
I --,,.
I - ,. ,.. )
~;\·)'/
'-..5LAST·
FIRST·
I] ~ROS. INV. UNll'
... ·::;-;·
I
STATE ,-. (:
JUV. DETAINED AT
SERIAL NO. SEl1"'1. I OFCR. SOOK!NG EMPLOYEE
CHECKltolG CWWS ----------
::~ (:;~~: ()5 ?'?1 ~? ;? ( ... il=:D f. Jf~:l< r:·,
l
PROPERTY RECORD
./
O;:t
J
>.1AIN
A.l.1C\W/Srk=.~1 AJIS I RLSE I PAC rwot
- -I' .'. ........"" "'
/ ,
'-..
't-" -
R.D.
EXACT LOCATION I OISPOSITION ARAES'=c'S VEHICLE
HAS OR
EVER HAO T.B.
·.J
PAO?. BAG f
LA
Cll
FBI
I / • - :. ·-· . ---·- -
SOCIAL SECURITY '-0.
! I' !{
RESiOENCE PHONE NO.
- . . :2 .. se:
..