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CNN Live Today

Interview with Joseph Rouzan

Aired July 19, 2002 - 09:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Back to California now. A policeman says he is not guilty of assaulting a teenager while arresting him back on the 6th of July. Inglewood, California Police Officer Jeremy Morse free on bail after being arraigned on the assault charge yesterday. His partner, Bijan Darvish, also seen in the videotape of the beating, has pleaded not guilty to filing a false police report that same day. Both officers also face an internal review of their actions.

And the man who will decide the fate of their careers, quite possibly, with us now, Inglewood City Administrator Joseph Rouzan is our guest this morning.

Sir, good morning to you.

JOSEPH ROUZAN, CITY ADMINISTRATOR, INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA: Good morning.

HEMMER: It is my understanding the internal review has been completed. Something tells me over the next two weeks that this process may play out on the internal side. What did you find? Where do you go from here, sir?

ROUZAN: Well, as a matter of fact, the internal investigation will be submitted this afternoon to the commanding officer of the officers involved. But he'll review that information and make a recommendation to the chief of police who will then review it and will talk with the officers involved regarding his recommendation.

HEMMER: Yes, give me a better clarification here about the options. I'm assuming you can do nothing, you can do a fine, you can offer some sort of other discipline or you can fire the two officers. Are those essentially the four choices?

ROUZAN: We cannot issue fines. Only that if an officer's suspended, it would take pay away. And of course if he's terminated, that would end his pay immediately.

HEMMER: Do the charges filed yesterday have any impact on your side of the investigation?

ROUZAN: No, those are criminal charges, which are handled by the district attorney's office. We will be looking at the internal investigation to make our judgment on whether the officers should be suspended or terminated.

HEMMER: Countless millions in this country has seen that videotape. Many of us have seen it many, many times. Is there anything, based on your experience, sir, that justifies hitting a suspect while in custody and while handcuffed?

ROUZAN: There are occasions when this could happen under certain circumstances. I am not sure that these are the circumstances that exist in this case. I will review the information in totality to make my decision.

HEMMER: What about the word we've gotten from Jeremy Morse? He says his testicles were essentially grabbed and that's why he struck out. Would that be justification in your mind?

ROUZAN: I have not read the investigation at this time, and I don't know what Jeremy said to our investigators. They will also not only take the statements, but they will do some type of investigation in relation to is that feasible? did it happen? and will make a recommend to me in relation to that.

HEMMER: And word on the inside says there is a second videotape that started earlier than the one that we have all seen. Have you seen it, number one? Has that changed your investigation? And is it true, possibly, that the lawyers defending these officers, they claim this second videotape's going to clarify everything. Is that possible?

ROUZAN: I have seen the second videotape. I did not see anything on that tape that would change any of the circumstances that I'm aware of.

HEMMER: There is a report out there, also, that says excessive force is quite widespread throughout the Inglewood police staff. Is there any truth to this?

ROUZAN: Not to my knowledge. That is untrue.

HEMMER: Can you say something on behalf of the department then as to how you would characterize the behavior in the past and how these men and women do their job?

ROUZAN: Well, these officers in the field have made something like 72,000 contacts. Last year we had 16 complaints in relation to excessive force. This year we're running in the neighborhood of about 20 complaints of excessive force and we will have much over 70,000 public contacts.

HEMMER: All right, Joseph Rouzan, Inglewood City Administrator, as that story continues. Thanks for your time today, sir, I appreciate it.

ROUZAN: Thank you.

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