The decision to fire
Det. Frank Lyga was seen as a
major test for Beck, who has been accused of being inconsistent in handling officer discipline and previously came under fire for his decision not to terminate a well-connected officer caught on tape uttering a racial slur.
Lyga’s attorney said the department notified him that Beck had signed the paperwork to fire the narcotics detective Tuesday. The Police Commission was formally notified Wednesday. Cmdr. Andrew Smith confirmed that Lyga is no longer an LAPD employee but said he could not comment further, citing a state law that makes police discipline confidential.
A three-person department board of rights panel recommended that the 28-year veteran be fired for his controversial remarks made last November at a training session. The panel said his comments “caused irreparable damage to the department’s image and gave fodder to our detractors who believe that the LAPD harbors racist officers.”
Lyga’s attorney, Ira Salzman, said Beck signed the termination papers the same day the board of rights briefly met in a conference call to clarify last week’s decision. Salzman said the chief did not give him enough time to submit a letter to Beck in Lyga’s defense.
“This is terribly unfair,” he said. “The speed and haste of this decision is unprecedented.”
In his comments, Lyga called prominent black civil rights attorney Carl Douglas an “ewok” — a short, furry creature from “Star Wars” movies — said a female LAPD captain had been “swapped around a bunch of times” and described a lieutenant as a “moron.”
He also discussed shooting fellow officer Kevin Gaines, an incident that sparked racial tensions within the LAPD because Lyga is white and the slain officer was black. Lyga was working an undercover narcotics operation when he became involved in a traffic dispute with Gaines, according to police accounts. Neither man apparently knew the other was a police officer.
