EDITORIAL BADGE ABUSE ZINE'S RESERVE OFFICER ROLE PUTS CITY IN BAD SPOT.

WEST Valley Councilman Dennis Zine's been a reserve officer since he retired from the LAPD's motorcycle division. But his use and alleged abuse of the badge is starting to put the city in some awkward spots.

Zine gets a lot of mileage out of his status as both a councilman and a Los Angeles Police Department reservist, taking dignitaries on ride-alongs and checking out locations with political connections.

Suffice to say, his political status gives him more pull than your average reservist.

However, some see his reserve antics as harassment, and those accusations are adding up.

Most recently, Zine is accused of harassing community farmers of South Los Angeles who are embroiled in a dispute with the city over a 14-acre community farm. Zine stopped by the farm while patrolling last week.

This isn't the first time Zine's been accused of going too far. A Reseda strip bar filed a $100 million lawsuit against the city in 2002, claiming that Zine harassed the club as a reserve officer.

It's fun to play cop, but someone of Zine's public stature ought to know that for liability reasons it's best to leave law enforcement to the active-duty professionals.