City Investigator May Face Charge in Assault on Officer

A city attorney investigator who helps defend San Diego police officers being sued could be prosecuted himself for hitting a detective at a topless bar in Kearny Mesa, police said.

Investigator Rodney Tompkins hit a vice detective as the detective tried to escort Tompkins and his companions from the Pure Platinum club on Kearny Mesa Road, said Sgt. M. Foreman of the San Diego Police Department.

Tompkins was attending a bachelor’s party when the group was asked to leave the club about 11 p.m. on Feb. 22 after at least one member of the party got into an argument with a bar employee, Foreman said.

Four vice officers who were inspecting operations at the club stepped in and also tried to remove the group.

At some point Tompkins struck Detective M. Van Abel in the chest with his left elbow, Foreman said.

An attempt was made to arrest Tompkins, but before the vice detectives could take him into custody Tompkins began struggling and tried to get away, Foreman said. Van Able suffered a broken hand during the confrontation.

Tompkins was arrested and booked into County Jail on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, Foreman said.

A source close to the case said that, in his capacity as a city attorney investigator, Tompkins helps defend the city and its employees from civil lawsuits, and that he often works to defend police officers from such suits.

Robert Abel, the principal litigation investigator with the city attorney’s office, declined to comment, and Tompkins could not be reached for comment.

Foreman said that, based on the police report, he was unaware of Tompkins’ position with the city attorney’s office.

Police spokesman Bill Robinson said senior officers in the department were only recently informed of Tompkins’ job by members of the media.