Officer Gets Probation in Weapons Incident

An El Monte police officer accused of pointing his service handgun at another motorist during a December 1998 road rage incident pleaded no contest Friday to a lesser charge of disturbing the peace.

Officer Frank David Bullington, 33, was sentenced to six months’ probation by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patty Schnegg for the misdemeanor offense. The judge also ordered Bullington to pay $250 in fines, plus penalty assessments, and to stay away from the victim.

Bullington, of West Covina, was off duty when he allegedly waved his .45-caliber handgun at Naq Kan Nguyen during an argument at the side of the eastbound San Bernardino Freeway in El Monte. He was initially charged with exhibiting or drawing a firearm. But prosecutors agreed to a plea bargain to the lesser charge, which allows Bullington to continue to work in law enforcement.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas Krag said if Bullington had been convicted of exhibiting a firearm he would have been forbidden to possess a gun for 10 years, making it impossible to continue working as a sworn police officer.

Krag said the district attorney’s office agreed to the plea because it already tried the case once last year without success.

A judge declared a mistrial last February after the jury deadlocked after two days of deliberations on the charge. “We had a good trial and, given the quality of evidence, this was a reasonable way to settle the case,” Krag said.

Bullington still faces possible discipline by the El Monte Police Department. It has completed an internal investigation but has delayed any action pending the resolution of the criminal case.

Since the incident, Bullington has been assigned to administrative duties at the department.