[Editor’s Note: We have received a report from a Mar Visa resident who began this way: “I had an altercation with Culver City Police C Officer Kyle Houck a few weeks ago, and the Department has just given him a free pass for his despicable, inexcusable conduct toward me. Below you will find the initial complaint letter and the letter sent when I received the Police Dept.’s decision.”]
Sirs,
I just had a horrendous experience with Officer Kyle Houck , Badge No. 839.
(At 50 years old, I’ve never, NEVER, NEVER in my entire life had someone put handcuffs on me, not even for entertainment value.)
On the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 3, in the area of 12:30 a.m., (I didn’t get back into my house until 1:15), I was returning home from an orchestral rehearsal in the Valley, exited at Venice, turned left on Sawtelle, right on Washington Place, then right on Marcasel, heading to my home on Rowles Court, a cul-de-sac of six homes on the east side of Marcasel.
I stopped at the gate, got the clicker and pressed the button to open the slow-moving gate. Only when the gate was halfway open did Officer Houck pull up behind me with the lights on. There was no way he was anywhere close to me on Washington Place, or else I would not have had the time to press the button to open the gate, much less have the time for the gate to open halfway.
Though I believe he insisted to the Sgt. Leon Lopez that his lights were on far earlier (on Washington Place, I can only assume).
I didn't see him or his lights until he pulled up behind me after I had stopped, gotten the clicker and started opening my gate.
I was blocking the entryway to the cul-de-sac. He was blocking more of it.
Since my garage was no more than the distance of one house away, feet from the gate, and I did not want to block any neighbors from getting home if they came in the meanwhile, I pulled into my garage, exited the car and walked out to meet the officer. I asked him, “What's going on?”
(The soonest I could have pulled over would have been virtually in front of my garage anyway.)
The officer had no interest in talking. His conversation was, “Get out of here.”
When I continued to walk out, he grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me toward the front of his cruiser. I asked him, “What the hell are you doing grabbing me? What are you doing this for? Why did you stop me? And (frankly) are you insane?”
He would not answer questions.
He would not engage in any kind of conversation. He pushed me against his car.” Are you nuts?” I said. “What the hell are you doing?”
Instead of engaging in any logical conversation or answering any questions, he called for BACKUP!
When I asked, “Are you going to handcuff me?” he said, no. Then he proceeded to handcuff me. He would not even tell me why the hell he was there. He only said “stop talking.” He would answer nothing. He shoved me to the curb.
Only then did he tell me I was “straddling the lines, and speeding.”
For this he grabs me, handcuffs me and shoves me to the curb?
Are you joking? What sort of power trip was this?
I said, “If that's the case how does that excuse what you are pulling now?” No answer.
He left me sitting on the curb inside my cul-de-sac until three more police cars showed up. They also would say nothing, telling me I had to talk to the Sergeant.
The Sergeant showed up, and I could finally get a word out. He kept insisting I was yelling when I was doing no such thing, just speaking loudly.
Damn straight, but yelling? No. Other than that, his conduct was fine.
He told me the Officer didn't know if I was going to run, and that might be why he handcuffed me. He also insisted that the officer had tried to pull me over and I didn't stop.
Let's get real. I was already at the entrance of my cul-de-sac (in other words, nowhere to run, dead end. Get it?) when Officer Houck pulled up.
He didn't pull up until I already had been sitting at the gate, so he couldn’t have been anywhere near me on Washington Place.
Also, if as the officer had perhaps imagined, I was trying to “run,” why the hell would I pull into a closed cul-de-sac, pull into my garage and not close the door, not run into the house, but come out to meet him?
It was a cul-de-sac for heaven’s sake. As soon as he saw me, he should have known that I was not going to be running anywhere.
I weigh 300 pounds.
When the officer had pulled up behind me, I waved at him to follow me in so I could get out of the street.
The officer was a total bum, had no interest in any conversation, just harassing me physically while not justifying his actions at all. His first act was to grab my arm and pull me to the hood of his car.
I will be filing charges against this officer. His conduct and actions toward me were totally inexcusable.
I was not drinking. I don't do drugs. Five seconds of conversation would have told him that — if he'd have bothered, if he had not been into some power trip.
It was not surprising that I didn't have anything to do with him again after the Sergeant arrived. A third officer gave me the citation.
If Houck thought he'd not done anything wrong, why did he have another officer bring me the citation? I contend he knew, and so did his colleagues.
The jerk treated me like some teenage vandal or drug abuser, when just looking at me for a few seconds would have told a logical person otherwise.
There is absolutely no excuse for his actions and conduct toward me.
I assume you have dash cams on your patrol cars. Watch it. But also watch his video from Washington Place, not just at my gate. Then you tell me if I refused to stop or that he was nowhere near close enough to even tell me to stop.
And I must reiterate that I didn’t even see the guy until he pulled up behind me at my front gate.
What I want and expect:
If this officer has never had complaints filed against him for this type of conduct before, I want him disciplined.
If Mr. Houck, Badge No. 839, has, in fact, had these types of complaints filed against him that were upheld, I want him fired.
I want a written apology from him, not the department, hand delivered by him, not the department, to me personally. And I want the “Not yielding” portion of the ticket I was given removed.
I have no problem paying for my mistakes. But I will not pay for the fantasies of someone else who must have been more than a long block behind me (or I would have noticed).
Please notice, I am not suing for money. That could change, of course. But if it’s not about money, and I’ve never filed a complaint against a police officer before, then ask yourself, why I would bother? If I get the apology and the removal of the citation, we’re done.
[Editor’s Note: After Mr. Fernandez learned the officer had been cleared, he wrote the following:]
Sirs,
I will not let this go. He will not get way with this kind of abuse or power trip.
I respectfully request a response and what you intend to do about the conduct of Mr. Houck, Badge No. 839. This kind of conduct cannot be allowed to go unanswered, and it won't.
This officer had NO respect, NO consideration and NO interest in any sort of conversation until he got his jollies.
[Editor’s note: Before the internal investigation, Mr. Fernandez sent a thank-you letter to the Police Dept.]
Sirs,
This is a short update on my harassment complaint against Officer Houck, Badge No. 839. I want to thank and commend everyone I've dealt with in this matter thus far (with the obvious exception of Officer Houck).
You were all receptive in short order, and on the very day of the incident (yesterday) I got a phone call from the Chief of Police. The Sergeant at the scene that night (Sgt. Lopez) was totally professional, and took time to find out the situation, unlike Officer Houck.
A few minutes ago, I got off the phone with a lieutenant from the department, His name started with A, but cannot remember the spelling now. I was pacing during our conversation with nothing to write with and am still to this moment livid about the officer's conduct.
The lieutenant was totally professional as well. Our conversation went through quite an arc. He impressed upon me all the reasons Mr. Houck might have had for his actions. But we ultimately had to agree to disagree. There was no excuse as far as I am concerned. There were too many times when Officer Houck could have defused the situation. (Conversation anyone?).
That said, I told him that if the ticket is dropped, I will withdraw my complaint. While I feel I am also due an apology for Officer Houck's overreaction, out of consideration for the department, I will settle for the ticket being negated.
To the point: I am very impressed how responsively and professionally all of you have acted toward me thus far, and it is very much appreciated (with the exception of Officer Houck.)
Thank you very much. I will inform you on the result and, depending on that result, what my actions will be.
[Editor’s Note: Mr. Fernandez’s letter to the Police Dept. after his complaint was dismissed.]
Sirs and Ladies,
I have now received the result of the faux investigation of the despicable immoral, unethical and absolutely inexcusable conduct of the loose cannon Officer HOUCK.
Not surprisingly, the department did not do a proper investigation or else they would not be covering up for Houck now. The officer has been given a complete and utter pass for his off-the-hook conduct toward me.
Regardless of what some self-interested police-excusing hack says, Houck's conduct cannot and will not go unanswered.
Therefore, I will now go the press, our House and Senate representatives and investigate every possibility of suing the city, the department and certainly this self-entitled, shameless officer personally.
This Police Dept. has shown me that they cannot be trusted to do anything except cover up the conduct of their worst officers, which, according to my experience, this jerk Houck certainly is. It is this kind of cover-up for bad police that gives police a bad name.
I said at the beginning of this process that if the department doesn't do the right thing, the ethical thing, the proper thing, I will cost them infinitely more financially than doing the right thing would have.
To add insult to injury, the bogus price for the bogus ticket I was issued has a bail of about of $705. I will see this scumbag in court.
If they find a judge to whitewash for him as well, I'll take it to another judge, then another and another. This scum will not get away with this.
This will not go unanswered. As much as that embarrassment Houck and his Police Chief would love me to disappear, I'll will be doing the exact opposite.
Scum cannot be allowed to get away with such conduct.
[Editor’s Note: Next: The Police Dept. response.]
Mr. Fernandez may be contacted at: tronec@charlesfernandez.com, www.charlesfernandez.com
