WILL COPS BE RETRIED? DEFENSE WANTS D.A. TO DISMISS RAMPART CHARGES.

Byline: Staff and Wire Reports

Defense attorneys plan to ask new District Attorney Steve Cooley to drop the case against the three police officers who saw their convictions in the Rampart police scandal overturned Friday night.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Connor threw out last month's jury verdicts convicting Los Angeles Police Sgts. Edward Ortiz and Brian Liddy and Officer Michael Buchanan of conspiracy and other charges involving framing alleged gang members.

The District Attorney's Office is considering whether to refile the case, and the men are scheduled to be back in court on Jan. 16, at which time a new trial could be scheduled.

But lead defense attorney Barry Levin said he will meet with Cooley next week to discuss the case. On Saturday, he praised Connor's ruling.

``I'm thankful that we have a system of checks and balances so that when there is a mistake it can be rectified,'' Levin said.

In an 18-page opinion faxed to attorneys late Friday night - details of which were reported in some editions of the Daily News on Saturday - Connor called the jury's verdicts unfair.

District attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said prosecutors had not yet had a chance to analyze the ruling and decide on their next step and whether the office would retry the officers.

``The bottom line is, we are very, very disappointed,'' Gibbons said. ``This is a very complex legal issue and we want to have an opportunity to read and analyze the judge's ruling and review the evidence in the case before making any decisions on the next step.''

Harland Braun, who represented Buchanan, said it was ``a relief to have this decision before Christmas. It had been surreal for the officers to stand there and have the jury convict them of something that didn't happen.''

Connor cited insufficient evidence and said the jurors focused on the wrong point of law.

Police Lt. Horace Frank said Saturday the ruling ``is not a dismissal of the case, but rather a rejection of the verdicts because of the basis upon which the verdicts were reached.''

In a statement, Police Chief Bernard C. Parks said: ``The ruling notwithstanding, it is important that we as a department move forward with identifying and rooting out corruption at all levels of the department.''

First to be tried

The officers were the first members of the now-defunct Rampart station anti-gang unit to be tried on charges based on the allegations of ex-officer Rafael Perez, who said police beat, robbed, framed and sometimes shot innocent people.

The district attorney has set aside charges against more than 80 defendants in cases related to the Rampart scandal, where officers have been accused of framing suspects and trumping up cases.

The city has paid out millions of dollars in settlements so far, and some estimates suggest the scandal could cost the city as much as $150 million.

Connor, though, said her court ``cannot and should not consider the political ramifications of future lawsuits or future prosecutions.''

``The defense in this case has presented compelling arguments to support their argument that the defendants did not receive a fair trial,'' she said.

The officers were convicted of conspiring to obstruct justice. Ortiz and Liddy were also convicted of filing a false police report in a case in which they said two alleged gang members ran a pickup truck into them.

Focus called wrong

In her ruling, Connor said jurors failed to decide a key question - whether two policemen were struck by a vehicle driven by a gang member. Instead, they focused on whether any of the injuries rose to the level of ``great bodily injury'' - an issue never mentioned at trial.

At a hearing last week, Deputy District Attorney Laura Laesecke told Connor that ``overturning the verdicts would be the true travesty of justice here.''

Gregory W. Moreno, attorney for Cesar Natividad and Raul Munoz, the two men who allegedly ran into the officers with their truck, said the judge's decision to overturn the convictions was ``politically motivated.''

``She couldn't hide it,'' he said. ``She wanted these ex-officers - rogue cops - exonerated.''

On the streets Saturday in the Rampart area, some residents were skeptical about the judge's ruling.

``I don't think it should have been overturned. They should have some kind of punishment,'' said Albert Jonke, 23. ``Even if you're getting the bad guys, you can't frame 'em.''

Maria Gonzales, a mother of four, said: ``It's not right. It's about time they're realizing that they're just as human as we are, and they can be just as corrupt.''

But many in the neighborhood west of downtown hadn't followed the case. The community is populated mainly by Latino immigrants who speak little English and whose concerns are limited to family and work.

The latest development in the Rampart corruption scandal drew blank stares at Chico's Barber Shop, only blocks from the police station.

Meanwhile, Hugo Castillo, who has worked for 33 years in his Rampart auto repair shop, said he could not judge the officers.

``I believe they were doing what they believed to be right,'' he said. ``These three cops, they should work again.''

At the Rampart police station, Sgt. Paul Torrence was succinct about the impact of the ruling on day-to-day police work in the community: ``None.''

``We go out and do our job. That's our daily mission. That's what we're focused on,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Connor said her court ``cannot and should not consider the political ramifications of future lawsuits or future prosecutions.''

(2 -- color) BUCHANAN

(3 -- color) ORTIZ

(4 -- color) LIDDY