LAPD Detectives Sue City Over Searches Related to Biggie Investigation

A group of Los Angeles detectives have filed a lawsuit against the city seeking to end, what they call, "warrantless searches" of their workspace. The suit, filed by the Los Angeles Police Protective League on Monday (March 19), names as defendants Police Chief William Bratton and former Deputy Chief Michael Berkow. According to L.A.’s CBS 2 News, on June 24, 2005, Berkow ordered a search of the desks and file cabinets of several detectives in an effort to locate documents related to the investigation of the shooting death of the Notorious B.I.G. At the time, the rapper’s family was embroiled in a wrongful death suit against the city and their attorneys sought to prove that crucial evidence that should have been made available was being withheld. The police union suit filed this week claims that the searches were improper because no warrant was issued. The wrongful death trial later ended in a mistrial after the presiding judge ruled that the LAPD did in fact withhold a pertinent piece of evidence. The rapper's family was later awarded $1.1 million in legal fees as a result of the mistrial.