Public Defender May Sue Over Seizure in Court

A deputy public defender who was dragged from a hearing and pushed through a door by two Los Angeles police officers said Tuesday that he has retained a lawyer for possible legal action against the officers and the judge who asked them to bring him from another courtroom.

Deputy Public Defender Howard C. Waco said he may file a lawsuit against Officers Nicholas Titiriga and Gregory Baltad and Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Raymond T. Mireles. Waco said he also may file complaints with police and judicial authorities over the conduct of Mireles and the officers.

“I want to see that this sort of thing never happens again,” he said. “The system went amok. When someone from the judiciary calls out the goon squad to come get you, you’re in trouble.”

The two Metropolitan Division officers are already facing contempt of court charges in a hearing before Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Alan B. Haber. Waco was in Haber’s courtroom when the officers dragged him out. Mireles needed Waco in his courtroom to discuss scheduling a legal hearing in which the public defender was the defense attorney, witnesses said.