LAPD Detective Accused of Making Racist Comments Sued by Colleague

A Los Angeles police detective who fatally shot a fellow officer during a traffic dispute, and stands accused of making racially charged comments about shooting black men, is being sued by an LAPD captain who claims he made vulgar comments about her in front of dozens of their colleagues.

Capt. Lillian Carranza, one of the people allegedly mentioned by Detective Frank Lyga in recorded comments made at a training session, filed the slander suit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court -- the same day the LAPD announced that Lyga had been assigned to home duty.

Carranza, who also alleges intentional infliction of emotional distress and false light invasion of privacy, is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Lyga could not be immediately reached for comment.

According to the suit, Lyga was conducting a training class at the Los Angeles Police Academy on Nov. 15 when he "began airing old grudges" and described Carranza as a "very cute Hispanic lady who couldn't find her (epithet) with both of her hands."

Lyga also said Carranza had been "swapped around a bunch of times," according to the suit, which says an "officer in attendance recorded Lyga's comments."

The remarks were overheard by 37 officers at the training session and by listeners and readers of various members of the media, the suit says.

"Plaintiff, contrary to Lyga's comments, is competent, professional and qualified to perform the duties and responsibilities of captain and each and every rank that she has held," and, contrary to what Lyga allegedly said, is "chaste and she is not promiscuous," her suit says.

Carranza wears her police badge as a "symbol of public faith" and Lyga's alleged statements "denigrate the confidence and trust (Carranza) holds as a public servant," the suit states.

It was unclear if the internal LAPD disciplinary action taken against Lyga Thursday was related to his 1997 fatal shooting of fellow Officer Kevin Gaines or to his remarks recorded on tape.

"The information may be related to the Gaines shooting or to the taped insults and racial comments Lyga made, but I don't know," LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith said Thursday. "That is all part of the ongoing investigation."

It was unclear how long Lyga would be assigned to home duty. "But obviously, we want to get these kinds of situations resolved as quickly as possible," Smith said.

A copy of the recording was released publicly by Jasmyne Cannick, a political consultant and writer. Cannick said the recording was made by a black officer who attended the class Lyga taught last November.

On the recording, a man gives a rambling, expletive-laden talk that revolves mostly around Lyga's 1997 fatal shooting of Gaines, an off-duty LAPD officer. According to police accounts of the shooting, Lyga was working an undercover narcotics operation when he became involved in a traffic dispute with Gaines on Ventura Boulevard near Lankershim.

Apparently, neither man knew the other was a police officer. The shooting sparked racial tensions within the department because Gaines was black and Lyga is white.

In recounting the LAPD's investigation into the shooting and the lawsuit Gaines' family filed, the man on the recording complains he was unfairly labeled as "a racist killer." He also recalled a confrontation he had with attorney Carl Douglas, who helped represent Gaines' family in their lawsuit.

Douglas, the man said, asked him if he believed all "young black men" were gang members and if he regretted shooting Gaines, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"I said, 'No. I regret he was alone in the truck at the time,"' the man said he replied. "I could have killed a whole truckload of them and I would have been happy doing so."

NBC4 reported that in a brief interview with Lyga, the detective acknowledged making the comments and expressed regret but claimed his words had been taken out of context.

Smith also said he did not know the current status of the Internal Affairs investigation involving Lyga or whether any case stemming from this investigation had been referred to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office.

--City News Service