Report Cites Many Problems With South Pasadena Police

A city-ordered investigation of the scandal-racked South Pasadena Police Department released Wednesday night found so many basic flaws in the organization that the force is now “starting at square one,” officials said.

An attitude promoted by retiring Chief Thomas Mahoney that off-duty conduct “is not a concern” was cited as a factor in officers allegedly covering up a hit-and-run crash and sexually exploiting an admitted manic-depressive volunteer, according to the report, compiled by Lewis Partners of Pasadena.

The report, presented to the City Council on Wednesday night, also alleges a new scandal: The department never investigated an officer who years ago shot a teenager while he was off-duty in another city. That youth won a five-figure settlement from South Pasadena, and officials Wednesday said the officer--whose identity they said they could not recall--was later arrested on suspicion of narcotics possession and fired.

The department also does not administer psychological testing to its officers and for years did not record civilian complaints, said Acting Chief John E. Anderson, who vowed to correct problems that he attributed to “lack of leadership.”

“We’re starting at square one,” he said, adding that he was unsure of the qualifications of some of his men.

After being told he was about to be terminated last month, Mahoney--who has been on administrative leave since August--reached an agreement with the city to retire effective April 1.

In an interview Wednesday night, Mahoney said the investigators did not contact him.

“I, quite frankly, question its validity,” Mahoney said of the report. He said the off-duty shooting was investigated and denied that he ignored off-duty conduct.

The first scandal the report addresses is a 1995 hit-and-run crash involving then-Officer Scott D. Ziegler, the son-in-law of a former mayor. Ziegler’s name was apparently erased from a police report on the crash, the city-ordered investigation said.

After The Times reported on the crash in August, prosecutors charged Ziegler with misdemeanor hit-and-run. He pleaded no contest and was fired.

The district attorney’s office and the FBI are probing the crash, and the woman whose car Ziegler damaged has filed a civil rights suit against the city. The second incident involves Theresa Goldston, who briefly volunteered with the department and said she had sexual relations with seven officers.

She later filed a claim against the city, which was settled for a reported $18,000.