Huntington Beach Police Seek Tapes of Melee : Law enforcement: Evidence will aid probe into allegations of officer abuse and prosecution of vandalism on Fourth of July.

By LESLIE BERKMAN

July 14, 1994 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Police officials said Wednesday that they are seeking videotapes of a Fourth of July melee near downtown to help investigate allegations of police abuse and build cases against those who committed crimes.

“We are looking for any videotape we can find of the incident, including that by the press, for information to see what really transpired,” Huntington Beach police spokesman Mike Corcoran said. “At this point we have nothing” on videotape.

The police request comes in the wake of complaints that officers confiscated the film of two people--a bicyclist and a newspaper photographer--who attempted to record the chaos downtown.

Michael W. Thayer, a 21-year-old Huntington Beach resident, said an officer seized a tape from his video camera about 10:30 p.m., after police had forcefully cleared revelers from Main Street.

Thayer said he was filming as he rode his bicycle through Huntington Beach with a camcorder attached to the construction helmet he wore. He said he videotaped his friends throughout the day and wants his tape back.

“The last time I checked, videotaping was a legal function, and you did not need a license for it,” Thayer, a computer operator who works at a film company, wrote in a letter to The Times. “All the events I had recorded, all my friends, everything, STOLEN by the Huntington Beach Police Department.”

Corcoran said Wednesday that he was unaware of Thayer’s allegation and that none of the officers recalled any contact with Thayer. “If those are the facts, then it is conceivable that the tape was illegally obtained,” he said.

So far, four people have filed formal complaints with the department about the conduct of officers on July 4, but Thayer is not among them, Corcoran said, adding that he did not have details about those complaints.

Police Chief Ronald E. Lowenberg has defended his officers’ actions, which included sweeping through downtown in riot gear and using a water truck to clear the streets. He said officers were trying to control revelers burning furniture in the streets and throwing firecrackers, bottles and rocks at officers and cars. More than 100 people were arrested that night.

Corcoran said the department’s professional standards unit “will investigate any accusation of unprofessional behavior” and welcomes videotapes to assist in the investigation.

In addition, Detective Greg Lawrence said he is seeking videotapes for evidence of the destruction of private and city property, “anything to help us prosecute those responsible for vandalism.”

The disturbance downtown broke out about 10 p.m.

More than two hours later, film containing photos of an arrest and handcuffing taken by a Times photographer also were confiscated and destroyed by Huntington Beach police. Police previously had prevented the photographer from recording other events on grounds that juveniles would be shown in the photographs.

Times editors met Monday with Lowenberg to protest the police action and “make it clear that we felt what they did was illegal and improper,” said Martin Baron, editor of The Times’ Orange County edition.

“The chief acknowledged that they had made a mistake in confiscating and destroying the film,” Baron said. “They also acknowledged that they never should have obstructed us from doing our job.”

Thayer said he contacted the Police Department on July 5 and spoke with someone in the property division who said there was no record of his videotape. The previous night, Thayer said, he gave the officer who confiscated his tape his name, address and phone number.

Thayer said he asked police officials to contact him if the tape was located, although he did not recall the names of the people he spoke with.

By Wednesday, he said, he still had not received any word about his tape. Thayer said he planned to lodge a formal complaint with the department.

He said that most of the lost footage was from parties he attended during the day, including shots of Independence Day decorations and his friends riding bicycles.

He said he had been riding his bike at 10:30 p.m., video camera mounted on his helmet, when officers halted him on Walnut Avenue near Main Street. He said one officer poked a baton between the spokes and he was told to sit down or he would be arrested.

The officers stated that he had been warned to clear the area and told him to hand over the videotape, Thayer said.

“When I asked why, it only drew a more angry response of ‘Give me the tape or you’re going to jail,’ ” Thayer wrote. He added: “Without hesitation I removed my videotape and gave it to the officer.”

The officers allowed him to go free without a citation, but they told him to leave the area or risk being arrested for being drunk in public, Thayer said.

He said he saw officers chasing people with billy clubs and hitting them--but most of that occurred after his tape was seized. Thayer said that his two hours of taping captured little of the law enforcement action that night.

“It is the first Fourth of July I ever taped and I would like to have it back,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “And I would like to know why they took it in the first place.”