PACOIMA : LAPD Rejects Oldest Rookie’s Bid to Rejoin

The Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday rejected a request by Edward Olivares to rejoin the force, closing the door on the 59-year-old former officer who was the department’s oldest rookie until he unexpectedly quit this month.

Olivares resigned effective March 4 after his commander, Capt. George Aliano, advised him that if he did not turn in his badge, he would be fired because he was not meeting LAPD standards, Aliano said in an interview Wednesday.

Olivares’ attorney, David Brian Lippe, said his client is considering “all options . . . so that his best interests can be served.” He acknowledged that those options range from an internal union grievance to a lawsuit.

Lippe said Olivares felt he was treated unfairly during his four months at the Foothill station in Pacoima, because of skepticism that a man of his age could do police work on the streets, and Olivares wanted to rejoin the force to prove himself.