LAPD Captain Accuses Chief Beck of Retaliation

A Los Angeles Police Department captain transferred to the Northeast Division from Pacoima last week for allegedly failing to take correct action against officers accused of using excessive force during a videotaped arrest in Tujunga says LAPD Chief Charlie Beck was wrong to remove him from his post and downgrade him two full ranks.

"This entire scenario is a total shock to me and it has devastated me," Capt. Joseph Hiltner told ABC7, adding: "The department that I placed tremendous trust in has betrayed me in a way that I can't express."

Hiltner filed a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing on Sept. 4, reportedly saying that "I have and will continue to lose substantial financial damages and extensive damage to my standing and reputation in my workplace.''

A veteran officer with the LAPD for the past 34 years, Hiltner was found by Chief Beck to be "severely deficient in his response'' to an arrest captured on surveillance video that appeared to show a handcuffed woman being thrown to the ground in a rough manner.

In the videotaped interview above to ABC7, Hiltner alleges that his transfer and downgrading is the result of Beck's retaliation against him for defending an officer who was reprimanded by LAPD Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger and for Hiltner's criticism of Paysinger's investigation.

The LAPD's Northeast Division has called a community meeting at the Northeast police station on Thursday, Sept. 13, at 6 p.m., evidently to discuss why officers use force during arrests and how the department investigates such encounters, according to the Los Angeles Times. The meeting is part of a citywide effort by the LAPD to allay public concern about a series of recent videotaped incidents in which officers were seen using force while making arrests.

The Northeast station is located on 3353 San Fernando Rd.

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