VENICE : Officer Charged With Assault on Teen-Ager
- Share via
A Compton police officer who allegedly struck a teen-ager with a pistol when the boy mistook the officer’s Venice apartment for a girlfriend’s was charged Wednesday with assault and battery.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Joseph D. Shidler said that on Sept. 2, the 15-year-old Inglewood boy went to the apartment house where the girlfriend lives. Shidler said that because the youth was unfamiliar with the building, he mistakenly knocked on the door of the apartment rented by officer Ivan Swanson, 24.
When no one answered, the boy opened the unlocked door, realized it was the wrong apartment and closed the door, Shidler said. Swanson, who had watched the boy peek inside, immediately reopened the door, hit the boy in the face with his handgun and kicked and beat him while waiting for Los Angeles police to arrive, the prosecutor said.
The arriving officers arrested Swanson, who was later released on his own recognizance. His arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 8 in Los Angeles Municipal Court.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
