L.A. Fire Official Probed in Drug Case : Investigation: Assistant chief is the target of an inquiry for accompanying a woman as she tried to buy rock cocaine from undercover police officers.

The San Fernando Valley’s top fire official is under investigation for accompanying a woman as she tried to buy rock cocaine from undercover police officers, city and fire officials said Wednesday.

Assistant Fire Chief James J. Mullen, a 31-year department veteran, is the subject of an administrative investigation for his off-duty role in the Sept. 6 incident in Van Nuys. The city attorney’s office is also reviewing the matter for possible misdemeanor charges against Mullen, officials said.

Mullen, 53, one of 17 assistant fire chiefs in the city, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Battalion Chief Dean Cathey, a department spokesman, acknowledged that an investigation is in progress but declined further comment. He said that Mullen, who oversees about 250 firefighters serving the Valley, will remain on active duty during the investigation.

Court records show that Mullen picked up the 29-year-old hitchhiker at Saticoy Street and Sepulveda Boulevard--a location known for prostitution and drug dealing--then drove her to nearby Roscoe Boulevard to buy cocaine. Mullen was driving his 1991 green Honda Accord with a vanity plate reading: DCHIF.

Minutes later, about 6:40 p.m., his passenger, Lisa Louise Andrews of Encino, was arrested after she asked an undercover officer for $20 worth of rock cocaine and handed his partner the money through a car window, according to an arrest report filed in Van Nuys Municipal Court.

Andrews was charged with solicitation of another to commit an offense, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. She is scheduled for arraignment Oct. 3 in Van Nuys Municipal Court.

Mullen is not named in Andrews’ arrest report. Deputy City Atty. Martin Vranicar Jr., who supervises the Van Nuys bureau for the city attorney, identified the driver Wednesday as Mullen.

At the time of Andrews’ arrest, Mullen was questioned briefly by police and released.

Los Angeles Police Cmdr. Martin Pomeroy, who oversees the LAPD’s Narcotics Group, flatly denied that Mullen received preferential treatment. He said the driver of the Honda--he refused to discuss Mullen by name--was released because he did not offer the undercover officers money, a standard requirement for arrest.

“His conduct did not warrant a physical arrest,” Pomeroy said. “That person was afforded the exact same opportunities that anyone else would have been afforded in the same situation.”

Pomeroy also said it is not unusual for narcotics officers to file complaints against a person initially released. He added: “Without telling you who he was, I’m sure they identified the driver before they let him go.”

Andrews declined to discuss the case Wednesday. She said she had been hitchhiking and that the driver offered her a lift. She said she did not know who he was.

In her statement to detectives, Andrews said:

“I got into his vehicle and he asked me if I date. I said, ‘Yah. Are you a policeman?’ He then pulled out his penis, showed it to me, and said are you a cop. We then talked about getting high. He said, ‘Let’s go to Roscoe/Sepulveda for some rock.’

“He gave me $20,” Andrews’ statement continues. “And I tried to buy some rock. I remember talking to a male and a female. I guess they were cops.”

Pomeroy said the driver was not arrested because Andrews’ statement alleging that he supplied the money was not made until after her arrest and the driver’s release. He also said police do not always rely on the statements of arrested suspects.