Tale of the videotape
Veteran LAPD cop and Altadena resident arrested a second time after recording himself pepper-spraying neighbor
By Andre Coleman 01/18/2007
Residents of an otherwise quiet Altadena neighborhood have at times used video cameras to record the sometimes questionable behavior of veteran LAPD Officer Irsie Henry, who lives on their street and has allegedly made no secret of his dislike for interracial couples, which some of Henry's neighbors happen to be.
In turn, Henry, who is African American, has done much the same thing: turning a video camera on his neighbors in a bitter feud filled with vindictive rhetoric and mutual restraining orders that has been going on for the past five years.
But, ironically, when LA County sheriff's deputies took Henry into custody on Jan. 11, it was because of his own video surveillance of his neighbors, not theirs of him.
Henry, who at the time of his arrest was petitioning the court to extend a restraining order against his next-door neighbor John Hamilton, was handcuffed by a sheriff's detective outside the Pasadena courtroom, then booked on a misdemeanor count of illegal use of a chemical agent — all based on a videotape that Henry had made three weeks ago showing him spraying pepper spray on the back of Hamilton's neck and arm.
According to Hamilton's wife, Mellanie, the incident started on Dec. 2 while her husband was washing his car. Mellanie Hamilton is black. John Hamilton is white. Henry, who lives next door, allegedly came outside and began insulting John Hamilton while he worked on his car.
A short time later, John Hamilton said Henry began pacing in front of his home before finally sitting on the curb. From there, he said Henry began flicking lit cigarette butts into the street and on the tree belt in front of the house. After Hamilton sprayed one of the lit cigarettes with his water hose, Henry allegedly sprayed Hamilton with the chemical.
Hamilton suffered some discomfort but was not seriously hurt. Henry, according to multiple sources, including the Sheriff's Department, called authorities and demanded Hamilton's arrest. He was told to make a citizen's arrest, which Henry did. Deputies then cited Hamilton but did not arrest him.
“The arm burned pretty bad. The neck … I didn't feel it until I took a shower, and then that's when it really burned,” said Hamilton. “[Henry] had [the pepper-spray canister] up high and was trying to aim it at my face. That's the way I interpreted it. He had it in his front pocket, and when he pulled it out, all I could see was something metallic, and I wasn't quite sure what he had. I dropped the hose and ran, and he chased me. He was clearly just out there waiting so he could pull that thing out.” Hamilton did not seek medical attention or help from the authorities.
However, Henry showed the deputies a copy of his videotape, and then gave them a copy of their own to review, which they did before the Jan. 11 court date for Henry and the Hamiltons to extend their existing mutual restraining orders.
The tape is now considered evidence and was not available for viewing. Henry declined the Weekly's request to view his copy of the tape. The Hamiltons did not record the incident.
“Both families have video cameras,” said Hamilton's attorney Spencer Vodnoy. “[Henry] pointed his camera to the front of the Hamilton's house and went outside and started taunting him, then proceeded to pepper-spray him.
“[Henry] has insulted every single LA sheriff's deputy he has come into contact with,” Vodnoy said. “Yet he actually showed them this video trying to effect a citizen's arrest. After they reviewed it, they sent it to the DA, and it was clear it was contrived. He had the pepper spray in his pocket.”
Oleoresin capsicum, more commonly known as pepper spray, is a chemical compound used in riot control and self-defense that irritates the eyes and skin and can cause temporary blindness. Several states, including Washington, Wisconsin and New York, require citizens to either hold a firearms certification or register with police before they can purchase the chemical.
Vodnoy said that if Henry had sprayed Hamilton in the eyes, he could have been charged with a felony. Misuse of tear gas in California carries penalties of up to a $1,000 fine and/or up to three years in prison.
Henry declined to comment on this story when contacted by phone. Henry installed his video surveillance equipment last year and offered to show the Weekly a tape of the harassment that he said he faced from his neighbors. However, he would not leave the tape at the Weekly office or provide a copy to reporters.
In November 2001, the Hamiltons and several others in the tree-lined suburban neighborhood wrote a letter to Henry's supervisor at the LAPD. Detectives from the Newton Division interviewed a number of Laurel Drive residents. Six months later they received a letter from LAPD Chief William Bratton stating, “The investigation has gone through several levels of review including myself and the command staff of the Internal Affairs Group. The allegations of unbecoming conduct, discourtesy and ethnic remarks were classified as unfounded, which means the investigation indicated the act complained of did not occur.”
The 6-foot 4-inch Henry, who weighs nearly 250 pounds, was on active duty with the LAPD for almost 20 years. He was assigned to home duty for much of last year pending a Board of Rights hearing after sheriff's detectives in Altadena got involved in the situation. Some residents of Laurel Drive testified at that hearing last summer, recounting their mostly negative experiences with Henry.
Vodnoy said that despite Henry's arrest, he still worries. Henry was arrested outside court, but he was released on his own recognizance soon after the incident.
“My biggest concern is the potential escalation of violence,” the attorney said. “This is the second violent incident. Before, these incidents were just insults.”
On July 12, 2005, Henry was arrested after an altercation with Michael Nerone, 42, another Laurel Drive resident who claimed that he was attacked by Henry on nearby Loma Alta Drive after the two men exchanged heated words. Nerone, who is white, also claimed Henry chastised him and his wife, Crystal, who is African American.
The District Attorney's Office considered it mutual combat, and no charges were filed against either man.
Despite that, Mellanie Hamilton said she was relieved that Henry was arrested last Thursday.
“It's ironic that after all these years and all the things that have taken place, it's a tape that he turned in to them to try and get my husband prosecuted that prosecuted him,” she said. “We are relieved. We still have to go back and get another restraining order. But it does go to show that you can't do bad things to people forever.”
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