POMONA : 5 Officers Put on Leave During Misconduct Probe

Five members of an elite Pomona police task force have been placed on paid administrative leave while internal affairs officers investigate allegations of on-duty misconduct.

Pomona Police Chief Charles Heilman said the five officers are members of the Major Crimes Task Force, a nine-man unit that investigates gang and drug problems.

“The allegations are very serious in nature,” Heilman said. He would not name the officers, nor would he comment on the nature of the allegations.

But police sources said the allegations involve use of excessive force, planting of evidence, falsifying reports and stealing narcotics.

One source said the officers planted narcotics on suspects to ensure arrests and then lied on police reports in order to get convictions. The source also said that two officers were investigated for similar allegations six months ago. The source said the five were turned in by another officer assigned to the task force.

Heilman said he was informed of the alleged wrongdoing by someone within the department but would not confirm that it was a member of the task force.

The incidents allegedly occurred since December, Heilman said.