LAPD Senior Lead Officer Antonio Hernandez and his partner, Antonio Vargas, stopped an activist and unlawfully detained him for allegedly “spitting on the sidewalk.” The officers informed the individual that his detention was based on a supposed violation of section 10.56.070 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code before issuing him a ticket.
However, the issue is that “spitting on the sidewalk” is not an infraction under any part of the Los Angeles Municipal Code. In fact, section 10.56.070 does not even exist. It appears the officers may have conducted a quick internet search for “spitting on the sidewalk” and mistakenly cited a violation related to codes from another jurisdiction.
As a result, the detention was unlawful, and the ticket issued was fundamentally inaccurate.
LAPD Senior Lead Officer Antonio Hernandez commits an unlawful stop and writes a false citation
On August 26, 2021, LAPD officer Roy Agbanawag was observed sleeping at the front desk of the Hollywood Division station while on duty. On August 29, 2021 was, again, observed sleeping at the Hollywood Division station front desk while on duty. A complaint was filed for neglect of duty directly with the Chief of Police.
In March 2022, a complaint disposition confirmed that the allegations had been sustained.
Unfortunately, under California Penal Code § 837.5, officer disciplinary records are private. However, by analyzing the disciplinary report, I was able to determine that Officer Agbanawag received a 10-day suspension.