A San Fernando Valley gang‑unit officer is under internal investigation after Los Angeles Police Department supervisors say they spotted a photo of disgraced Rampart detective Rafael Perez as the officer’s cellphone lock screen during a body‑camera review.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the image surfaced while a supervisor was reviewing footage from a vehicle pursuit. The officer was seen texting on a personal cellphone, and when the device lit up, Perez’s image appeared. That moment triggered an internal personnel review that was elevated to Deputy Chief Marla Ciuffetelli and the department’s Internal Affairs division. The officer, who has not been publicly identified, is now under scrutiny.
Civil‑rights attorney Carol Sobel told the Times that “images kept on a personal phone are generally protected by the First Amendment,” but she noted that the line becomes less clear when a personal device is used for official business. Sources told the Times that when confronted, the officer expressed admiration for Perez and was accused of “conduct unbecoming” while department leaders checked whether the officer had been involved in any problematic cases.
Why Rafael Perez Still Resonates
Rafael Perez’s name is still shorthand in Los Angeles for some of the LAPD’s darkest chapters. As detailed by Frontline, his late‑1990s admissions pulled back the curtain on a pattern of officer‑involved shootings, planted evidence and perjured testimony tied to the Rampart Division’s anti‑gang unit. The fallout included overturned convictions, multimillion‑dollar settlements and years of federal oversight of the department…