Former Los Angeles police officer Rafael Perez was implicated in unlawful conduct in connection with the “Ramparts Scandal” in Los Angeles. Perez acknowledged to investigators that he engaged in illegal acts. Perez alleged corruption was widespread in the police department’s Ramparts Division. An internal investigation resulted, which ultimately implicated scores of police officers, overturned dozens of convictions, and generated intense media scrutiny. Former officers Paul Harper, Brian Liddy, and Edward Ortiz (“the officers”) were implicated in wrongdoing in connection with the scandal. Criminal charges brought against the three resulted in acquittals.
The officers later filed a 42 U.S.C. §1983 suit against Perez, the district attorneys, the city, and the former chief of police. The officers generally contended that the defendants had conducted an improper and negligent investigation, and that the officers had been arrested without probable cause for falsifying a police report and conspiring to file such a report.
