Top Officials Go Into Seclusion in City Stunned by Killing of Officers

The shooting deaths of two Palos Verdes Estates police officers continued to traumatize the small South Bay city Wednesday, with questions remaining about the killer’s motive and the role of officers who subdued--and apparently killed--him.

Police Chief Gary Johansen and City Manager James Henrickson, both of whom witnessed the killings Monday in a Torrance hotel, went into seclusion, refusing to speak about the deaths and referring questions to a public relations specialist from the nearby Redondo Beach Police Department.

“It is now time for these gentlemen to rest and to begin attending to their personal needs and professional duties,” Palos Verdes Estates Mayor Michael C. Moody said in a written statement.

Sgt. Dave Smith of the Torrance Police Department, which is investigating the deaths of the two officers and the gunman, said Redondo Beach Lt. Jeffrey Cameron will act as an impartial spokesman for Palos Verdes Estates until the Police Department gets back on its own feet.

The shooting deaths of Capt. Michael Tracy, 50, and Sgt. Vernon Thomas Vanderpool, 57, were the first in the department’s history and have so overwhelmed the tiny police force that city streets are being patrolled by officers from neighboring departments, and a team of Los Angeles police has been summoned to help organize funeral arrangements.

A memorial service for the two officers has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at Rolling Hills Covenant Church in Rolling Hills Estates. The funeral procession will proceed to Green Hills Cemetery in Rancho Palos Verdes, where there will also be a memorial service.

On Tuesday, Johansen, who considered Tracy his best friend, lost his temper with reporters when asked about circumstances surrounding the gunman’s death. “Two of my best officers died yesterday,” he said at the time. “You think I care (how David Fukuto died)? I don’t care.”

The cause of death remains an official mystery because the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, at the request of prosecutors, has not released autopsy results. But there are reports that Fukuto died of a head injury during a struggle.

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In addition to coping with the loss of the two veteran officers, the 23-member Palos Verdes Estates police force must also deal with ongoing investigations into the circumstances surrounding Fukuto’s death. Independent investigations into the incident are under way by the Torrance Police Department and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Mike Botula, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, said Wednesday that it is very unusual for prosecutors to request the temporary sealing of autopsy information. Botula said prosecutors could recall only a few such cases in recent years, all of them involving officer-related deaths.

County coroner’s spokesman Scott Carrier said his office receives “about five or 10 requests a year” from various law enforcement agencies to keep autopsy information confidential. In the Fukuto case, the decision to request confidentiality for 45 days was made by the district attorney’s special investigations division, which is assigned to investigate all officer-related deaths, but Botula said the request should not be interpreted as an indication “that we’re suspicious something improper was done.”

But several attorneys and legal scholars said Wednesday that if the autopsies are sealed for long, it could undermine public confidence in the actions of the officers who subdued Fukuto.

“Unless they resolve this quickly, it suggests a cover-up of some kind,” said Southwestern University School of Law professor Robert A. Pugsley.

Criminal lawyer Hugh Manes, who specializes in police brutality cases, added: “I would be much more ready to accept the notion that the perpetrator was killed in reaction or in protection of others now than I would be 30 or 45 days from now. This will probably cost them a lot more in terms of public suspicion than if they let us have access to it from the beginning.”

However, other legal observers suggested that it may prove wise to keep the autopsies confidential until each person who was in the hotel room is questioned.

“In a case like this where they really do want to get all the witnesses’ statements, they want to be careful none of the statements are influenced by the official coroner’s report,” said Loyola University Law School professor Laurie Levenson.

Meanwhile, police continued to search for an explanation for Fukuto’s assault on the Torrance hotel meeting room, where 13 city officials and police were attending a motivational seminar. The owner of a Carson gun store said Wednesday that Fukuto, a gun enthusiast and son of a prominent appeals court jurist, once worked at Ranger Sales, a competing gun shop on Torrance Boulevard that closed under suspicious circumstances in 1987.

“All I know is that the owner ran off and took all the guns and left a lot of people looking for him,” said Daniel J. Rickard, who leased the space to Woodrow Weld, who, according to corporate records, was the proprietor of the gun shop. “He just closed up shop one day and locked the doors and never opened up again.”

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Contributions to the families of both officers can be made to the Palos Verdes Police Officers Assn., Mike Tracy/Tom Vanderpool Memorial Fund, Palos Verdes Estates Police Department, 340 Palos Verdes Drive West, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. 90274. Donations also can be mailed to Malaga Bank, 2514 Via Tejon, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. 90274.

Times staff writers Jesse Katz and Ted Johnson contributed to this story.