BOARD CONVICTS CRASH CAPTAIN.

Byline: Greg Gittrich and Beth Barrett Staff Writers

The captain in charge of the Rampart Division anti-gang unit at the center of the LAPD corruption scandal was found guilty Thursday by a disciplinary board for failing to take appropriate action after learning of a vicious station-house beating.

Sentencing of Capt. Richard Meraz, the highest-ranking officer so far to face disciplinary action in the scandal, was put off until Monday. The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking a 20-day suspension on three counts of administrative failure.

Meraz, who supervised the Rampart Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit from August 1995 through September 1998 when the worst of the alleged corruption occurred, declined to comment on the verdict.

But he told the board: ``I will continue to perform to the best of my ability as a commanding officer in the city that I love very much.''

Meraz's attorney, Barry Levin, said the captain, who no longer works in the Rampart Division, was disappointed by the board's decision, but was neither bitter nor angry. Levin wouldn't say whether he planned to appeal the verdict.

``I have nothing but respect for the process, but I disagree with their findings,'' Levin said. ``We did our best to show that this was not a part of the Rampart scandal, to keep it as separate as it was in fact.''

LAPD brass have moved more quickly against Meraz than against about 17 other officers who have been relieved of duty in connection with the Rampart scandal, partly because the charge against the captain was an administrative charge, sources said. Other cases have criminal aspects.

In all, the board found Meraz guilty on three administrative failings related to his management of the fallout of a 1998 beating of a handcuffed gang member, Ismael Jimenez.

The board concluded that Meraz did not instruct any other officer to record statements Officer Ethan Cohan made to him in the aftermath of the attack. According to testimony and documents, Cohan released Jimenez after he was beaten by Officer Brian Hewitt. Both Cohan and Hewitt have been fired.

The board also found that Meraz failed to forward Cohan's statements to the complaint investigator and that he failed to take appropriate actions when he was told that Cohan was using an informant without the department's knowledge.

``Our position is the decision was justified by the facts that we presented,'' said LAPD Lt. Fabian Lizarraga, a spokesman for the Police Department.

During two days of testimony, Meraz said he had acted responsibly and made sure Cohan's name was on the complaint related to the beating.

Six months passed before Meraz was interviewed by investigators, he said.

``I was shocked,'' Meraz recalled.

In retrospect, Meraz concedes he should have ensured that Cohan's statements were tape-recorded, a department policy. ``It's a learning experience for me, to tape in the future,'' he testified Monday.

Meraz said the investigation of the beating by Hewitt was looked into no differently than numerous other complaints made to the Rampart Division - until Internal Affairs took over the matter a couple of days later.

Rampart station commanders held weekly meetings to go over excessive-force and other complaints, and were completely surprised by dirty-cop-turned-informant Rafael Perez's allegations of massive corruption within the CRASH unit, Meraz said.

Meraz testified that he learned of the narcotics allegations against Perez in August 1998, shortly before being reassigned to the Central Division. Since then, he said, he continued to try to find out what investigators were learning about possible problems within the CRASH unit that he had been supervising.

``I said, `I don't know what's going on; I don't have a clue,' '' Meraz testified Monday.

Meraz, as a Captain I, or entry level for that command, is regarded within the department as a ``nice guy,'' but a weak leader with poor management skills, according to sources close to the task force investigation.

``He was not paying attention,'' a source said.

Others, however, testified at the disciplinary hearing on Meraz's behalf, saying he was competent.

The fact that Meraz was given such a demanding command at a time of unprecedented LAPD expansion in one of the most difficult crime-fighting communities in the city also raises questions about how the department screens and monitors its candidates for command.

Hewitt was fired June 18 for his role in the Jimenez beating. The gang member's blood later was found in an interview room. Some 40 minutes after the attack, an emergency room doctor examined Jimenez and found his neck had red marks on it consistent with finger marks, in addition to marks on his chest.

District Attorney Gil Garcetti has declined to prosecute Hewitt twice in the past 18 months. Following a Daily News story on the beating Monday, Garcetti said his office is looking more closely at the case.

Cohan did not testify at Meraz's disciplinary board hearing. He is appealing his July 2 firing for releasing Jimenez without medical treatment. He has denied any wrongdoing.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1) Los Angeles police Capt. Richard Meraz, right, speaks with other officers after his conviction Monday by a police disciplinary board, which found that he failed to act properly when he learned of the station-house beating of a gang member.

(2 -- color) Meraz

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer