LAGUNA BEACH : Police Visit Prompts Claim for $1 Million

A Laguna Beach attorney has filed a $1-million claim against the city, saying two city police officers entered his house early one morning without knocking and then refused to leave when asked.

Patrick R. Boyd, 28, said he and his two roommates were asleep when officers entered his darkened home at 1 a.m. on April 20 and began shining flashlights in his living room.

“First of all, I thought it was a joke,� Boyd said Monday. ‘I stumbled into my living room and there were two big old Laguna Beach cops standing in my living room with hands on their guns and flashlights in my face demanding I identify myself in my own home.�

Boyd said the officers refused to leave after being asked repeatedly to do so and also refused to call a police supervisor to the scene.

Police Officers Ted Falencki and Darin Leyni were called to the house on Starlit Drive by a neighbor who reported that people were swimming in a pool at what was thought to be a vacant house, Police Chief Neil J. Purcell Jr. said Monday.

Purcell defended the officers, saying they entered the house legally and left once they were satisfied that Boyd and two other people had a right to be there.

“It was sound police work,� Purcell said. “They were just checking things out. I think they would have been remiss if they just walked away.�

However, the chief added, a Police Department investigation into the incident concluded that the officers “could have used a little bit of judgment in honoring the request to have a supervisor called out to the scene.�

Boyd said that earlier that evening his roommates had allowed a group of neighbor girls who were having a slumber party to jump into the pool for about 10 minutes. When the officers appeared about three hours later, the house was quiet, he said.

The city’s insurance company has recommended that the City Council reject the claim at tonight’s council meeting.