FULLERTON – A lawsuit accusing a Fullerton police officer of sexually assaulting two female suspects is close to being settled, City Attorney Dick Jones said.
The civil suit, originally filed in Superior Court in December 2009 and now in federal court in Santa Ana, accuses officer Albert Rincon, now on paid administrative leave, of sexually abusing the two women after arresting them in separate 2008 incidents.
Capt. Kevin Hamilton, the acting police chief, is taking steps to terminate the officer, said City Attorney Dick Jones on Tuesday.
In the first incident, the suit accuses Rincon of arresting a woman on Aug. 1, 2008 on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance at a Fullerton bar where she worked. The charge was ultimately dismissed.
Rincon is accused of, under the guise of patting her down, sexually assaulting her and repeatedly going back to her job and harassing her.
The second woman was arrested by Rincon on Nov. 14, 2008 on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol; court records show that charge was eventually dismissed. After the woman was handcuffed in the back of the patrol car, the lawsuit states Rincon sexually assaulted her.
Attorney Bruce Praet, hired by the city to represent Rincon and the city, did not return several calls asking for comment.
Rincon, a Fullerton officer since 2006, was also accused in court documents of violating the Police Department’s policy of pat-downs, which are supposed to be performed by officers of the same sex whenever possible. Additionally, court documents alleged that Rincon violated police policy by turning off his audio recorder when he came in contact with the women.
After conducting an internal investigation of the incidents, Rincon was reprimanded by police officials for violating the pat-down policy and the policy requiring officers to keep their audio recorder turned on, a federal judge said in court documents.
During a criminal investigation by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office into the officer’s conduct, it surfaced that several other women had approached the Police Department with similar complaints against the officer, said Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the D.A. That office declined to file criminal charges, however, citing the inability to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, Emami said.
“The issue was that they (some alleged victims) all knew one another and got together and discussed their stories,” the spokeswoman said. “The stories they gave to law enforcement were extremely similar and the problem we had was determining (whether the stories) were the actual experiences for each woman or based on conversations with other women.”
Jones, the city attorney, said he could not reveal the tentative settlement amount because it first must be approved by the City Council. Jones said the issue will likely be on the Oct. 18 City Council agenda.
“Clearly, the parties have orally agreed,” Jones said.
The women each filed claims against the city in April 2009, both seeking $7.6 million in damages. The claims were denied by the city, prompting the lawsuit.
“After about three years, it looks like our clients will finally receive some measure of justice,” said John Upton, the attorney representing the two women. “We share the public’s concern and sincerely hope that this case leads to a safer Fullerton.”
Any settlement would come as the city deals with various problems in its Police Department.
Two officers are accused of the beating death of Kelly Thomas, a mentally ill homeless man, and face criminal charges. Earlier this year, an officer was arrested at Miami International Airport on suspicion of stealing an iPad. An internal-affairs investigation was recently begun after a man was wrongly accused of attacking a police officer.
And Fullerton police were scheduled to publicly apologize Tuesday night for breaking into the wrong house during a search for a suspect.
