Overdose or homicide? LAPD detective claims he was ordered not to investigate girl's death
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Set us as preferred A veteran LAPD narcotics detective is suing the city of L.A., claiming he faced retaliation from supervisors and fellow officers after he refused to stop investigating a young woman’s suspicious death.Alexander Tan alleged in his lawsuit, filed July 7 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, that his unwillingness to go along with a “coordinated cover-up” of the death of 18-year-old Amelia Salehpour led the department to derail a “distinguished” career that included numerous awards and commendations.“The Department’s message through these actions is clear: officers who report misconduct, even when that misconduct leads to the death of an innocent person, will face career ruin.
Officers who disclose violations of law, even if those violations involve criminal negligence, will be ostracized, harassed, and pushed out of the Department,” the suit said.“This is not just retaliation against one officer; it is a warning to all Department members that speaking truth to power will cost them their careers.” California Officials in L.A.
initially ruled the death of 18-year-old Amelia Salehpour an accidental overdose.But her family has spent a fortune on private investigators who say they turned up evidence of a homicide, creating a divide within local enforcement over how to handle the case.In early 2024, Tan and his then-police partner, Det.
Jose Verdin, had been conducting an investigation of what police described as a known “flop house” in Van Nuys when they learned of Salehpour’s death there.Tan claimed in the lawsuit that Salehpour’s death was misclassified as an overdose.He alleged that he and his partner found evidence that she had instead been strangled.
When the detectives reported their findings up their chain of command, Tan said in the lawsuit, the department retaliated by tak...