ANGRY ZINE ACCUSES CO-OP MEMBERS OF HARASSMENT.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

A long-simmering dispute with the operators of a 14-acre farming cooperative in South Los Angeles boiled over Wednesday when a City Council member accused the group of harassment.

In a five-minute outburst, Councilman Dennis Zine defended himself against accusations leveled by the farmers that he'd tried to intimidate them Tuesday night when he drove to the site at 41st Street and Alameda Avenue.

The farmers have been trying to convince the city to buy the property from a landowner so they can continue their cooperative.

"I've had it with these farmers," Zine said. "They come here and they harass us and I'm tired of it. I won't listen to them any more."

Zine, who works as a reserve Los Angeles police officer, said he and two partners were patrolling the area at 10 p.m. Tuesday when they drove by the property in their unmarked car.

"They've been inviting us to come down for months and I thought it was a chance to see what was going on," said Zine, a retired LAPD sergeant.

But Zine said he and his partners were followed by people in a large white car. When they pulled over to try and talk to the driver, Zine said, they were confronted by a large group of people.

"They asked me what we were doing there," Zine said. "We were in uniform. That's no way to treat an officer. We never went on their property and no one ever pulled a gun on anyone."

Fernando Flores of the South Central Farmers Support Committee said Zine never identified himself as a police officer and should have arranged to visit the farm during the day.

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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