Sherman Oaks Man Can Sue Cops Accused of Framing Him for Murder, Judge Rules

A federal appeals court today ruled that a lawsuit brought by a Sherman Oaks man against two former LAPD detectives who allegedly framed him for murdering his mother can proceed.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena said although police officers cannot be sued in connection with their court testimony, they can be sued for “unlawful actions” during an investigation.

The panel affirmed a lower court’s ruling denying absolute immunity to former Los Angeles police detectives Andrew Monsue and Howard Landgre, who Bruce Lisker alleges fabricated evidence against him.

Lisker was convicted in 1985 of second-degree murder and sentenced to 16 years to life in prison for the death of his 66-year-old mother, Dorka, who was found stabbed and beaten to death in her Sherman Oaks home in 1983, when he was 17 years old.

A Los Angeles Times investigation in 2005 called into question much of the evidence in Lisker’s trial, and his conviction was overturned in August 2009 by a federal judge in Riverside who ruled that false evidence had been used and that Lisker had inadequate legal representation.

Lisker, who is now 49, was released from prison in 2009 after U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips voided his conviction, and the state dropped charges against him.

In 2010, Lisker sued Monsue, Landgren and the city of Los Angeles, alleging his civil rights were violated by the detectives.

• City News Service
• Photo Credit: Twitter User Maryann Rose ‏@gondorose
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