Officer Shot in Lover's Quarrel Earns Nearly $144,000 Without Working

By Jorge Casuso

A Santa Monica police officer who disposed of key evidence and lied to authorities after being shot by a colleague during an adulterous affair more than two years ago remains on administrative leave, a status which has earned him nearly $144,000.

Kevin Cummings, 35, -- who threw the gun he was shot with out his car window, then gave conflicting versions of the Oct. 1, 1997 shooting -- is expected to remain on the city payroll until an internal investigation is completed next month. As of Nov. 20, he had earned $143,839, according to city records.

Det. Linda Brown, who shot Cummings four times after he broke off their extramarital affair, netted $37,649, before she was convicted and sentenced in May to 11 ½ years in prison after a second jury trial found her guilty of attempted murder.

Although Cummings has testified under oath that he tampered with evidence and lied to police, he has not been charged with a crime. As a result, he will remain on the payroll until the administrative investigation is concluded, city officials said.

"Administrative decisions as to whether someone will be paid or not are based on information they (the investigators) would have that is confidential," said Lt. Gary Gallinot, the department's spokesman. That information, Gallinot added, is part of an internal investigation that has been delayed by the two criminal trials.

"You have to look at why this dragged on so long," Gallinot said. "There was a criminal investigation, so we couldn't do an administrative investigation until the criminal was out of the way. The criminal takes precedence."

In response to a public information request filed by The Lookout, the City Attorney's Office wrote that "it is anticipated that the investigation will be completed in January 2000."

Sources familiar with the investigation say the probe already has been completed and that it is expected Cummings will be dismissed from the force he has served on since 1992.

Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. has the final say in Cummings future, Gallinot has said.

Cummings told investigators different versions of a story that did not include his extramarital affair with Brown. Depending on the version, Cummings was either shot by suspects near a store, shot while on a pay phone or shot by someone who was following him.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gary A. Nielsen told the jury that Cummings was sedated after undergoing surgery when he was interviewed by authorities. He also did not want his wife to know he had been with another woman, Nielsen said.

Although the jury convicted Brown, they said after the trail that they did not believe that Cummings was telling the truth.