An embattled ex-police officer of the Los Angeles Police Department is not backing down from a court fight ordering her termination from the workforce after a decision declared her guilty of the events leading to the leaked photo of a bruised face of R&B star Rihanna, The Hollywood Reporter said. The photo was taken by former LAPD officer Rebecca Reyes using her cellphone the night the singer was involved in what seemed to be a brutal altercation with her then-boyfriend Chris Brown.
Superior Judge Luis Lavin had issued a temporary ruling that denied Reyes' writ of mandate, which sought a hold on a final order that upheld a decision terminating her from the police service.
THR said that earlier, Reyes was found guilty of multiple counts of misconduct at an administrative hearing for playing a key role in the leak of the infamous photo to celebrity news site TMZ. According to the administrative record, Reyes was one of the two officers who responded to a radio call based on a report of a woman screaming on June Street. Reyes and her partner found a battered Rihanna, with Brown no longer at the crime scene. After initial police procedures were done, which included taking photos of Rihanna's injuries, the singer asked the police department to remain quiet about the investigation.
Reyes, said THR, admitted to taking one of photos that were printed for paperwork and told an administrative panel that she did it as she had wanted to show the photos to her fellow police officers. It was found out later that Reyes sent the mobile phone images to her email address, aside from showing it to a few people including her former girlfriend LAPD officer Blanca Lopez.
An investigation by the LAPD following the leak of the photo to TMZ arrived at a decision that Reyes had a participation with the leak, at at a couple of times, failed to come out and admit her fault when her superiors asked during roll calls.
Lavin explained in his tentative decision to deny Reyes' writ of mandate, which read, "After conducting an independent review of the evidence, the Court finds that Petitioner participated in the release of the photograph showing Ms. Fenty's injuries to TMZ."
