Costa Mesa : Fired Ex-Officer Attempts to Win $19,440 Back Pay

Former Costa Mesa Police Officer William Lauchlan, who was fired last February and convicted in July of misdemeanor sexual assault, met with city officials Tuesday in an effort to win back pay that could amount to as much as $19,440.

Lauchlan, accompanied by his attorney, Jack Kayajanian, met with City Manager Fred Sorsabal and other officials and argued that he should have been suspended with pay until his conviction on July 11, 1984. Sorsabal declined to say when the city would decide on the case.

Kayajanian said new evidence will back up his client’s case. “We are claiming it was a wrongful termination, and we have new evidence that will lend credence to his innocent plea,” he said. “I can’t say exactly what that evidence is, but it will pertain to the truth and veracity of the witnesses against him.”

Lauchlan was found guilty of molesting a 22-year-old woman on Jan. 10, 1983, and sentenced to 60 days in Orange County Jail and three year’s probation. An Orange County Superior Court jury acquitted him on a similar charge involving a 39-year-old Costa Mesa woman and couldn’t reach a verdict on a charge of false imprisonment of the younger woman.

Police Chief Roger Neth fired Lauchlan after a hearing in March, saying that he based his decision not on any criminal charges but on violations of the department’s code. “So we didn’t have to wait for the outcome of the trial,” he said.

Lauchlan currently is awaiting a court date on his appeal of the conviction.