Accused Officer Sues Over Coach Job

An LAPD sergeant accused of perjury in the Rampart corruption scandal has sued Los Angeles County because he was barred from coaching his 6-year-old son’s T-ball team after his arrest.

Brian Liddy, 38, asked a judge to order the county to reinstate him as a volunteer coach, alleging that the decision to dismiss him as a volunteer at Castaic Regional Sports Complex was “arbitrary” and “capricious.”

Sheila Ortega, spokeswoman and volunteer coordinator for the county Department of Parks and Recreation, declined to comment on the Liddy case but said volunteers can be removed “for any reason that’s disruptive [to] the services” the department provides. “We’ve had other instances where people were undesirable,” Ortega said.

About two dozen parents have signed a petition seeking Liddy’s reinstatement.

“It takes a special person to coach. Brian had the ability,” said Lori Meottel , mother of a 7-year-old boy coached by Liddy. “We were all very upset because we didn’t understand what [Rampart] had to do with any of the kids.”

That view was confirmed by a Parks and Recreation employee, who declined to comment on the litigation but said the former coach appears to enjoy the support of all the parents.

“The team loved him. We had no problems with him,” said Jeff Dorst, recreation services supervisor at the Castaic complex. “He did a fine job as coach.”

Liddy, who has been relieved of police duty, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice, filing a false police report and perjury.

In April, in the middle of T-ball season, Liddy was informed that he was no longer welcome as a volunteer coach because of his arrest in connection with the Rampart scandal, according to court documents.

To become a volunteer, applicants are fingerprinted and submit to a criminal background check. Those convicted of certain sex, narcotics or violent crimes are not eligible, according to the application form.

Liddy, who had been among the nearly 50 approved volunteers in the T-ball program, wasn’t accused of those type of crimes, said his lawyer, Russell J. Cole.

“He hasn’t been convicted of anything,” Meottel said.

According to Meottel, Parks and Recreation employees told her they believed that Liddy would not be a good role model, and they feared being publicly associated with him.

“What if one of the news crews comes down here and follows [Liddy] around, and he’s with Parks and Rec? That would be really bad press for us,” an employee said, according to Meottel.

In the last few weeks, Meottel led the petition drive in hope of bringing Liddy back. The petition, which states that parents were “outraged” at the removal of Liddy and hailed him as “a positive role model for our children,” was signed by parents of all 12 members on Liddy’s T-ball team, the Yankees, as well as parents who knew him from his soccer coach days, Meottel said.

Eventually, other parents filled in at the T-ball team. “It was very unorganized,” said Meottel, who served as one of the last-minute coaches. “We tried, but it wasn’t the same.”

T-ball season ended in June. Though soccer season now is in full swing, Liddy did not reapply to be coach because he knew he would be turned down, Cole said. He filed the lawsuit July 20 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Liddy declined a request for an interview, citing his pending criminal case.

“It’s not money he’s after,” Cole said. “He’s doing it because he’s a parent, and he’s involved in his children’s lives.”