LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — LAPD Chief Charlie Beck says he was “mistaken” in his initial comments denying involvement in the sale of his daughter’s horse to the department.
Beck came under fire after a memo released Wednesday appeared to contradict his previous comments that the $6,000 sale of the animal, owned by his daughter, LAPD officer Brandi Scimone, “steered around” him.
READ MORE: Kelly Price, Well-Known Gospel And R&B Singer, Registered As Missing PersonThe document (PDF) from the L.A. Police Commission obtained by CBS2/KCAL9 shows Beck signed a grant request from the commanding officer in charge of the LAPD’s Mounted Platoon for the purchase.
In a statement issued Wednesday evening, Beck said he realizes now he should have been more transparent about his relationship with the owner of the horse.
“Yesterday, I stated that the paperwork for the donation of a horse originally owned by my daughter, LAPD Officer Brandi Scimone, and purchased with private funds ‘steered completely around me.’ Since that time, I reviewed the file and realized that I had signed the LA Police Foundation’s Grant Request after the donation had been evaluated and approved by the Office of Special Operations and had also signed the Intradepartmental Correspondence to the Board of Police Commissioners to approve of the donation. Therefore, I now realize that my comments were mistaken,” Beck stated.
“After evaluating the circumstances of this donation, in retrospect, I should have ensured that the Department had formally transmitted to the Commission the additional documentation on file which identified the original owner of the horse. I will continue to work with the Commission to increase the Department’s transparency.”
L.A. Police Commission President Steve Soboroff said he was “satisfied the commission will have sufficient disclosure going forward” based on Beck’s statement.
“After reviewing the information provided to date by the Department, the Inspector General, and Chief Beck, I am comfortable that the Chief was not involved in the selection, evaluation or purchase of the horse (by the LAPD Foundation) that was previously owned by Chief Beck’s daughter, LAPD Officer Brandi Scimone, and that he did not influence any decision to accept the donation by the Department,” Soboroff added.
The comments follow just hours after Beck came under fire when the memo addressed to him from Capt. Patrick Smith, dated March 14, 2014, emerged in a report by The Los Angeles Times.
The document explains the animal’s qualifications for service on the LAPD, and that the cost of the horse would be covered by a private donor, but identifies the seller only as “a department employee assigned to the Mounted Platoon,” rather than by name.
READ MORE: Costco And Other Big Box Retailers Limiting Number Of Some Items Customers Can PurchaseLAPD Assistant Chief Michel Moore earlier told KNX 1070’s Claudia Peschiutta Beck had nothing to do with working out the details of the transaction.
