Suspension Urged for Officer Who Aided Son

The Los Angeles Police Department panel that found a veteran sergeant guilty of protecting his fugitive son recommended a punishment of 33 days suspension without pay, a penalty that must be reviewed by Chief Willie L. Williams, police sources said Wednesday.

The three-member Board of Rights panel recommended that Sgt. Dennis Pelch be suspended for “inappropriately assisting” the travels of his son, a fugitive who was suspected of robbing banks in Canyon Country and Northridge in 1993. The panel--composed of Cmdr. Tim McBride, Capt. Bob Gale of the West Valley Division and Melvin Lennard, a civilian--heard 10 hours of testimony Monday and deliberated for several hours Tuesday.

Police sources described the case as highly unusual and emotional. They said Pelch, a highly regarded sergeant who is often chosen by other officers to represent them as a defense advocate in disciplinary matters, was placed in a tough position.

Panel members, who declined to discuss the case in detail Wednesday, said they had never heard of a similar case.

“No one wins in a case like this,” Gale said. “It’s very emotional. It’s a tear-jerker.”

Pelch’s attorney did not return telephone requests for comment Wednesday.

But police sources said that Pelch denied withholding information about his son’s whereabouts and he maintains he is innocent of wrongdoing. He was cleared on three other charges of withholding information and failing to cooperate with FBI and internal investigators.

The penalty, which could have ranged from a reprimand to dismissal, will be reviewed by the chief in the next several weeks. Williams has the discretion to lower--but not increase--the punishment. He typically supports the Board of Rights’ recommendation.

Some police and prosecutors said that the elder Pelch not only knew where his son was living but also helped him secure transportation to elude arrest. His son, Brett Pelch, 28, was a federal fugitive for two years and was featured on the “America’s Most Wanted” television show.

Brett Pelch was arrested last summer in Northern California. His brother, Chad, 24, had previously been arrested in the same robberies and is serving a 10-year prison term.

The brothers, along with three other men, were charged with kidnapping, hostage-taking and other offenses.

Authorities say that in separate incidents the men burst into the homes of bank managers and held them and friends and family members hostage overnight. They then compelled the managers to go to their banks in the morning and open the vaults, escaping with a combined total of about $215,000, police said.

One of the other men has been sentenced to prison and one is awaiting trial. The fifth remains at large.