2008-10-20

Former Maywood police officer sentenced for assault on suspect

Michael Singleton, 43, is ordered to serve 18 months in county jail and three years' probation.
By Victoria Kim, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 18, 2008
A Los Angeles judge sentenced a former Maywood police officer Friday to 18 months in County Jail for ramming a handcuffed suspect's head into the wall, then covering up the incident afterward in a false police report.

Michael Singleton, 43, was convicted in June of assaulting a suspect who had cursed and spat at him, leaving the suspect with a broken nose, parts of his face temporarily paralyzed and intermittent loss of consciousness.

Singleton was also ordered to serve three years' probation upon his release from County Jail, where for his safety he will be housed separately from other inmates.

Earlier this year, a jury deadlocked in favor of acquitting Singleton. His conviction at the retrial was a significant victory for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, which has struggled in the past to win convictions in cases involving police brutality.

Judge Marcelita V. Haynes said she felt jail time was necessary to send a message to officers in positions of power that there will be consequences for abusive actions.

"What bothers me the most is that Mr. Singleton, like myself, we're not entitled to let our anger take over," she said as she sentenced Singleton to the jail term requested by prosecutors "He lost it, and there is a higher standard for him and people in the position of power."

Deputy Dist. Atty. Margo Baxter told reporters outside court that Singleton's conduct was particularly egregious because of his position as a police officer.

"It turns on its head everything you are taught to believe about the police," she said.

Singleton's charges stem from a May 2004 incident in which Singleton and a probationary officer he was training were called out to a neighborhood dispute. As officers took one of the neighbors, Jose Bernal, into custody, Bernal fought the arrest, hurling profanities at the officers and spitting at them.

Once they arrived at the station, a furious Singleton retaliated by pushing Bernal, who was handcuffed, head-first into a wall, Baxter said.

Some of the encounter was captured on a nearby surveillance camera, which prosecutors argued contradicted Singleton's statement that Bernal was violently resisting at that point.

Singleton then wrote in a report that Bernal was injured in a fall, and pressured the trainee to falsify his account, prosecutors said.

The trainee, Joseph Densmore, reported the incident to his supervisors and was subsequently fired. Densmore was a key witness for the prosecution in both trials.

On Friday, Haynes also denied a motion by Singleton's attorney, Michael Stone, asking for a new trial based on what he said was juror misconduct and contradictions in witness statements.

Stone told Haynes that Singleton, a father of two boys who was fired from Maywood and now works as a private investigator, was putting his life back together.

"He's on a good track, and he's at a good place," Stone said.

Outside court, Stone expressed concern about how his client would fare in jail, where he said officers convicted of a crime related to police work are vulnerable.

"The inmates find out who's coming in and what they're coming in for," he said.

A solemn Singleton walked out of the courtroom and embraced his friends and family. He was ordered to return Nov. 4 to begin serving his sentence.

victoria.kim@latimes.com

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let the Truth Be Known!

First trial favored acquittal 9-3; a landslide result that lawyers will tell you is unethical to retry. LADA on a witch hunt to get that "cop" conviction they have struggled for years to get pursues. So they drag an innocent man who dedicated years of his life protecting even the DAs butt through hell.

"An abuse of power by the LADA" says one appellate attorney when refering to LADA's ability to get the 9-3 trial result favoring acquittal retried.

Scientific evidence and Physics 101supports Singleton down to the skin tears on the resisting arrestee's skin. Arrestee who, by the way, has a history of resisting arrest and a long, violent criminal past.

DA's so-called "expert" had no credentials qualifying him, yet jurors chose his personal opinion over science.

Trainee was directed by Singleton to help; he did not; with 5-6 wks OTJ, he stood there like a deer in headlights. Trainees Latest Story (changed over the years): Detainees head rammed into wall knocking him unconscious; he bounces backwards with blood gushing from his head, landing on Singleton who then applies a two-handed choke hold while simultaneously punching the already-unconscious larger man laying on top of him, all without getting any blood on him. Not sure even Superman could do that! Yet in 2004, trainee never made any mention whatsoever of a wall and had a completely different story!

Come on JD -- it's time to tell the truth!

Juror #5 has seizures and takes cat naps throughout trial. Everyone has a right to a fully conscious jury 100 percent of the time; even cops. Had all evidence been properly considered by an unbias jury, guarantee you a deserved 12-0 acquittal would have resulted. Some jurors felt he was already guilty because he was charged.

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