Klan Infiltrator Is Awarded $531,000 in Suit Against Police

Former police reserve officer Douglas Seymour was awarded $531,000 Monday by a jury that found two San Diego police officers liable for violating his civil rights when he infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan.

A beaming Seymour, 45, of Escondido, told reporters afterward: “I think I’ve been vindicated.”

The San Diego Superior Court jury, which deliberated 2 1/2 days, found Sgt. Ernest Trumper, Seymour’s immediate supervisor, and officer Michael Tyler liable for the damages.

A third officer, Rancey Zerbe, was found not liable and no damages were awarded against him.

City Liability

Trumper’s attorney, Dan Krinsky, said the city of San Diego will have to pay the award because of the city’s liability for its workers’ actions.

“I’m sad to see the city is going to have to pay for this claim but happy that it’s not going to be coming out of my client’s pocket,” Krinsky said. “I think he (Seymour) got too much, and I really don’t think he deserved to get anything.”

Krinsky had argued that no damages should be paid to Seymour.

Trumper and Tyler left the courtroom through a side entrance and could not be reached for comment.

Deputy City Atty. Kenneth So, who handled the case for the city, also left without commenting on the decision and did not return phone calls made to his office later in the day. But Krinsky said he believes that the city will appeal the decision.

“I’m sure we’re going to be asking the judge to set aside the verdict or ask that the award be lowered,” Krinsky said. “That’s pretty routine in a case like this.”

Seymour said he was pleased with the award, even though it was far less than his original request of up to $2.5 million.

Seymour had claimed that the top command of the San Diego Police Department had disavowed its own undercover officer inside the Klan and destroyed his intelligence reports to hide allegations that police were illegally spying on a right-wing congressional candidate.

Attorney David M. Korrey contended that his client suffered mental problems and lost his wife and construction company because police coerced him into staying too long in the difficult undercover assignment, then destroyed his reports after it appeared that the police were violating the Hatch Act.

The Hatch Act is a 1939 federal law that prohibits government workers from participating in politics.

During the trial, Superior Court Judge Raul Rosado substantially trimmed the number of potentially liable defendants by dismissing the city and San Diego Police Chief Bill Kolender from the suit. Rosado also only allowed damages for violation of Seymour’s civil rights and conspiracy to do so.

“The amount of money has never been the driving factor,” said Seymour, whose lawsuit took five years to come to trial. “It was to clear my name, and I think we accomplished this.”

Seymour testified during the five-week trial that the Police Department abandoned him during his undercover investigation of Tom Metzger’s 1980 43rd Congressional District campaign and the Ku Klux Klan.

Wanted to Quit

He testified that he begged Trumper to be relieved of his assignment, but that Trumper refused to allow him to quit. Trumper testified that Seymour never asked to be taken off the assignment.

Assistant Police Chief Bob Burgreen testified during the trial that Kolender met with his top staff and decided to leave Seymour on the detail, despite the fact that Metzger was running for political office.

But Kolender repeatedly testified that he had little or no recollection of the lengthy police undercover operation. Asked about the meeting with Burgreen and other staff members, Kolender testified, “I don’t recall that subject at all. I’m saying I don’t recall it happening.”

Jurors who agreed to talk with The Times were strongly convinced that Seymour deserved something.

“We all felt really good about our decision,” juror Sharon Simon said. “It was based on evidence. We had to make a choice that was right.”

“We felt his civil rights were violated,” juror Lisa Swan said.

Jurors said the foreman, Ben Davis, an auditor, helped them compute the damages by counting Seymour’s diminished earning capacity and mental damages.

“Some witnesses were more credible than others. I don’t think I want to mention names,” Swan said.

Jurors declined to comment on the testimony of Metzger or of Trumper.

When asked about the testimony of Kolender, juror Swan said: “We noticed he didn’t remember much of anything.”

Juror Audrey Klein criticized the mention by the officers’ attorneys that Seymour had been married four or five times.

“Being married four or five times is irrelevant,” Klein said. “The marriages were not important.”

Seymour testified that his marriage broke up during his infiltration and that he suffered a nervous breakdown after undergoing a Klan trial in which a gun was poked in his face when Metzger began to suspect his identity.

In testimony, Metzger denied putting a gun at Seymour’s face and said the event Seymour described did not happen.