Accounts of October shooting differ

University police officer Terrence Duren walked into court
Monday carrying a copy of “The Prince” by Machiavelli
““ a 16th century book that explains might makes right
when ruling a country and the ends justify the means.

“Did you know that this was Tupac’s favorite
book?” Duren said.

The 44-year-old Duren was in court testifying at the preliminary
hearing for Willie Davis Frazier Jr., the man he shot on Oct. 5
while on routine patrol in Kerckhoff Hall.

Across the courtroom handcuffed to his chair, 52-year-old
Frazier sat in a blue jumpsuit next to defense attorney John
Raphling.

Talking from behind the visitation glass at the Twin Towers
Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles months before
Monday’s hearing, Frazier’s account of what happened
when he was shot does not come close to mirroring
Duren’s.

Duren said he asked Frazier if he was a student or member of the
faculty but suspected Frazier was trespassing in Kerckhoff Hall
because he appeared to be homeless. After a verbal confrontation,
Duren said he tried to detain Frazier, who was quickly trying to
walk away.

Duren said he grabbed Frazier in a bear hug to try to keep him
from leaving, and a physical confrontation ensued. The
confrontation included Frazier scratching Duren’s finger, and
Duren striking Frazier with his steel baton on both legs above the
knees, Duren said.

Frazier managed to run away to a nearby bathroom, where Duren
said Frazier punched him when he followed in pursuit.

The physical confrontation continued, and Duren said Frazier
began to pull the officer’s gun out of its holster. Duren
said they struggled for the weapon and it inadvertently went off,
striking Frazier.

Duren said he was surprised Frazier got up after the shot, and
said Frazier then grabbed the baton.

Duren said he pointed his gun at Frazier and told him to drop
the weapon, but when Frazier began to move forward, he fired,
striking Frazier and ending the incident.

However, according to Frazier, the story is much different, and
he now stands charged with two counts of assault and one count of
removing an officer’s weapon ““ crimes that could
warrant a sentence of 18 to 20 years in prison; crimes that Frazier
says he didn’t commit.

Frazier said he had been writing a letter in the study lounge
for close to an hour and a half before he was confronted by Duren.
He said the officer approached him and asked if he was student.
Frazier said he responded, “I’m leaving,” and got
up to leave.

That was when Frazier said the physical confrontation began and
Duren began beating him on his legs. The confrontation continued
and Frazier said he was able to escape and ran to a nearby
bathroom. Frazier said Duren followed him into the bathroom and
that was where he was shot.

The stories differ mainly because Frazier said he never struck
Duren or held any of Duren’s weapons during the incident
““ issues that make up the three charges against him.

Now Frazier, who said he has been homeless since August, is in
jail awaiting trial on $250,000 bail.

A dual reputation

A Southern California native, Duren became a police officer
nearly 20 years ago after serving in the Marine Corps immediately
after high school.

He joined the UCLA police department in 1988, and, at the time a
member of the Marine reserves, was called to action in 1991 and
served seven months during Operation Desert Storm ““ the U.S.
military operation in Kuwait.

In 2001, Duren, a husband of 19 years and father of two, was
named UCLA’s Officer of the Year.

The award is based on the three categories: performance of
duties, contributions to the department and a commitment to the
goals of community-oriented policing, said UCPD operations
lieutenant Manny Garza.

“My support of his recognition as Officer of the Year
speaks volumes. He does a very good job for us,” Garza
said.

However, despite Duren’s history of service and seemingly
upstanding image, John Raphling, Frazier’s attorney, said
Duren is a violent police officer.

While cross-examining Duren Monday, Raphling raised questions
about Duren’s past ““ a history that mixes a former
Officer of The Year with allegations of police misconduct and use
of excessive force.

According to court documents and complaints by prosecution
attorneys, Duren has had numerous other confrontations ““
including some on the UCLA campus.

After Duren allegedly awoke a student napping in the Kerckhoff
Hall study lounge on Aug. 25, 1993, Duren escorted the student
outside, slammed him against a wall, and cuffed and arrested him, a
court complaint stated.

While on the way to jail, the complaint said Duren told the
student, “For a while there I thought I was going to have to
“˜Rodney King’ you.”

Only a day before, Duren had arrested another student who was
also studying in the same building. A second court complaint said
Duren harassed and unreasonably searched the student about three
months earlier in the lounge, and this time, while the student was
studying, the complaint said Duren questioned and arrested him
without probable cause.

In 2002, Kirk Zhong, a biochemistry student, also had an
incident with Duren.

Zhong said he was walking by Murphy Hall on a Sunday and saw two
officers questioning a homeless man. He said he walked by and the
officers began shouting at him.

According to the incident report, Duren and Zhong had a verbal
confrontation. The report says during the course of the
confrontation Zhong took a combative stance with clenched fists.
Zhong was later arrested.

Zhong said the claims that he had clenched fists are unfounded
because he was carrying books.

Raphling said Duren has a long history of complaints and said
the police department has looked the other way ““ not taking
the warnings as seriously as they should have.

“I wonder where the outrage is about an officer who shot
an unarmed man who was trying to get away from him,” Raphling
commented about the Frazier trial.

Raphling said Duren was given a notice of termination from UCLA
on Aug. 16, 1990. He added that a hearing was held and Duren
retained his job but served a 90-day suspension.

Nancy Greenstein, director of police community services for
UCPD, said the department cannot comment on personal matters.

Raphling said he heard Duren testify under oath that he had been
fired from the Long Beach police department.

Duren said complaints naturally come with the job, but he has to
be able to take criticism.

“You have to recognize that there’s people that
aren’t going to like you,” Duren said. “If you
can’t take criticism in this job, you shouldn’t go into
it. You have to be thick-skinned.”

Kwaku Duren, an attorney and Duren’s uncle, said his
nephew comes from a family that is highly critical of the police
department. Kwaku has never represented Duren in court.

Kwaku said his sister, Duren’s aunt, was killed during a
California Highway Patrol traffic stop in 1975.

Kwaku said his sister was shot and that the officers claimed his
sister pulled a gun that fell back into the glove compartment.

Kwaku said the incident has sensitized Duren to the failings of
police and that Duren has tried not to mimic those practices.

Duren said he loves being an officer but dislikes getting into
fights.

“I’ve made close to 1,000 arrests (either directly
or indirectly) with less than 10 fights,” Duren said.

Duren said he tries to avoid physical violence and using deadly
force.

“You try your best to avoid it; you really do,”
Duren said. “Life is sacred. That’s the last thing you
want to do.”

A nomadic road

While Duren was on routine patrol at Kerckhoff Hall the night of
the shooting, Frazier said he was there because he was writing a
letter to the social security office because he had stopped
receiving checks from them.

Frazier, who said he hasn’t committed a crime in his adult
life, also said he had begun looking for jobs while he was
homeless.

His uncle, Joseph Cornett, an attorney in Inglewood, is the last
person Frazier stayed with before he became homeless and before the
confrontation at Kerckhoff.

“I was surprised to learn about the incident because
he’s a fairly easygoing person,” Cornett said.

Born in Detroit, Frazier said he received a GED and attended
community college in Michigan.

He said he drove a cab part-time for 23 years and studied
liberal arts at Wayne State University in 1991.

Frazier said he was accepted to Ohio State University in 2001,
adding he wanted to get a degree in photography but had problems
with housing, admissions and his girlfriend that prevented him from
achieving his goal. He decided to move to Los Angeles, where he
hoped a friend would show him around.

“Every time I lived somewhere I had a problem,”
Frazier said. “I tried living with my sister (in Columbus,
Ohio), and we couldn’t get along.”

After moving to Los Angeles, Frazier said he was living in
hotels and had tried applying to UCLA and USC online but
hadn’t heard back.

“He liked the university environment,” Cornett said.
“I was a little surprised (to hear of the incident). He was
certainly no threat.”

From behind the visitation glass in prison months ago, Frazier
lifted his black prison uniform and revealed his undershirt,
stained with blood from the wounds of the shooting.

“I don’t know this kind of life. I don’t know
jail etiquette, what’s proper, what to say, every part of
being in jail,” Frazier said in a phone interview.
“Right now I’m in an environment and a situation that
I’m not used to. It’s just hard right now.

“I haven’t done anything to be in this
situation,” he said.

Raphling said Frazier will plead not guilty at his trial
arraignment on Feb. 9. The trial is set to begin as soon as 60 days
from the arraignment.