Kevin lee gaines february 6, 1966 march 18, 1997 was an american police officer. The lapds frank lyga was ousted not for shooting a man, but for talking about the shooting inappropriately years later. Fired lapd detective frank lyga sues for discrimination. Gaines, angry and allegedly out of control, pulled a gun on motorist frank lyga pictured above and threatened to cap his as. In march 1997, lapd undercover detective frank lyga, shot and killed fellow lapd rampart crash officer kevin gaines in what was described as a road rage incident. To reduce the incidence and fear of crime, and to enhance public safety while working with the diverse communities to improve their quality of life. Mack, who was suspected to have played a role in the murder of notorious b. This incredible nonfiction book rips the lid off the lapd and exposes the reader to its dark underbelly of corruption during the reign of chief daryl gates. Simpson debacles, the lapd took a far more damaging hit when officer rafael perez implicated over seventy fellow officers members of the elite rampart streetcrimes unit in a conspiracy of robbery, brutality, drug dealing, false imprisonment, and. Frank lyga alleged that his civil rights were violated when lapd officials wrongfully decided to fire him because of his race. Ice cube is teaming up with woody harrelson and ben foster in the new film rampart. They have a name and they try their best to pin it to the crime but lose in the court room. Lapd detective frank lyga secretly recorded talking about. Lapd board of rights recommends firing of detective for.
One of the early signals of coming trouble for the l. Frank was working as a homicide detective and i as a sergeant. For those not hip to the detective frank i could have killed a whole truck. Gpoole also investigated the killing of lapd officer kevin gaines by lapd officer frank lyga on march 18, 1997.
His police locker was decorated with pictures of suge knight and tupac. Earlier this month, former lapd officer brian bentley, posted an audio file, that was surreptitiously recorded by an unidentified employee of the lapd of current lapd detective frank lyga. Expose, share and make viral dishonest lawyers, judges. We had not seen each other since high school 20 years. Lyga is reportedly considering appealing or filing a lawsuit. Lapd detective frank lyga disparages fellow officers during police training.
Lapd detectives use of the nword roils infamous gang murder case. Detective skaggs spent over 23 years assigned to homicide investigations, was the lead detective on. Acclaimed journalist randall sullivan follows russell poole, a highly decorated lapd detective who in 1997 was called to investigate a controversial coponcop shooting, eventually to discover that the officer killed was tied to marion suge knights notorious gangsta rap. On march 16, 1997, black offduty lapd officer kevin gaines pictured above, first photo was shot and klled in a road rage dispute. Lyga, it turned out, was an undercover lapd narcotics detective. Russell poole was the lapd detective who investigated the murder of christopher wallace, aka biggie smalls and the notorious b. The book contains content on the murder of the two celebrities. Kading and poole were detectives who investigated the deaths of tupac and biggie and gaines was a police officer. Ca prisons halt racebased lockdowns, inequality for san.
City of lies is an upcoming american biographical crime film directed by brad furman and written by christian contreras. Bentley, an african american, published a tellall book entitled. Kevin gaines was a lapd police officer who was murdered by lapd detective frank lyga in 1997 after a. Lapd detective frank lyga offers proof that the lapd still employs, harbors. Kevin gaines drove up next to detective frank lyga, and engaged him into some kind of a verbal altercation. He was shot and killed on march 18, 1997, by undercover lapd detective frank lyga, who. On wednesday, lapd chief charlie beck signed paperwork to fire detective frank lyga, who was accused of making inappropriate and racist remarks during a department training session. After a few years of patrol duties he was promoted to detective rank. Thats the question i have for lapd police chief charlie beck and the police commission after listening to an audio recording of detective frank lyga at a recent inservice l. Poole, a detective with the robberyhomicide division, was a lead investigator on the lygagaines shooting and was later assigned to the rampart corruption task force, where he investigated the. It is based on the book labyrinth by randall sullivan, about the murder investigations of tupac shakur and the notorious b. A confrontation ensued, with gaines flashing gang signs at officer lyga. In the fall of 1998, still reeling from the rodney king and o.
Ira salzman, lygas attorney, confirmed on wednesday that. That motorist happened to be an undercover cop, detective frank lyga, who pulled out his own gun in selfprotection and shot gaines through the heart. Adding to the scandal was the shooting death of corrupt lapd officer kevin gaines by fellow officer and undercover detective frank lyga in 1997. March 18, 1997 on ventura boulevard in north hollywood, two men in civilian garb driving their vehicles got into it, trading heated unpleasantries. In 1997, bentley was the subject of an extensive internal affairs investigation that included over three. A former lapd detective charges that the top brass derailed his investigation of the rap stars murder when it pointed to a cop. Former lapd officer calls for frank lyga investgation into. Our mandate is to do so with honor and integrity, while at all times conducting ourselves with the highest ethical standards to maintain public confidence. White officer files civil rights claim against city, wins. During a training session, lyga was speaking to a room of 38 other lapd employees when he took over the training session and started to talk about a 1997 incident when he shot and killed fellow lapd officer. Kevin gaines police officer project gutenberg self. Lapd detectives use of the nword roils infamous gang. He was shot and killed on march 18, 1997, by undercover lapd officer frank lyga, who was determined.
Statement on the firing of lapd detective frank lyga. It is the mission of the lapd to safeguard the lives and property of the people we serve. Ice cube to star in film based around cops with alleged. Lapd detective caught making racist remarks on audiotape. After retiring in 1999, he formed a private detective agency.
The film stars johnny depp as retired detective lapd russell poole, with forest whitaker, rockmond dunbar and neil brown jr. The book was great i loved it it open my eyes to know more about this case. The resulting lapd investigation of kevin gaines helped lead to the rampart scandal. Kevin gaines police officer news newspapers books scholar jstor january 2020 learn. Controversial detective frank lyga fired by lapd chief. I was relentlessly harassed by the lapd because of it. According to lyga, gaines, who was not in uniform was acting aggressively towards lyga in traffic and at the red light, lyga pulled his weapon and killed gaines. Frank lyga project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. This profile of the murder book draws on the experience of detective john skaggs ret, who retired in june 2017 after serving more than 30 years with the lapd. For those not hip to the detective frank i could have killed a whole truck load of them lyga, lets take a trip back down memory lane. Frank lyga in comments caught on tape is suing her fellow cop. Lapd captain files slander suit against lapd detective frank lyga share this. Veteran lapd officer sues to get job back after recorded.
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