A City of Santa Monica transit manager was arrested Monday afternoon on charges of possessing child pornography.
Los Angeles Police Department officers arrested Transit Operations Superintendent Larry Jamieson, who has been working at the Big Blue Bus since 2012 and made $240,371 last year. He resigned Nov. 29 and will officially terminate his employment Jan. 2, 2019, but the City has placed him on administrative leave, effective immediately.
Edward F. King, director of transit services, detailed the arrest in a memo to Big Blue Bus staff. The Daily Press obtained a copy of the memo from an employee to verify the information.
“We are heartsick and devastated by the arrest of Larry Jamieson for allegedly possessing child pornography,” City of Santa Monica Manager Rick Cole said in the memo. “As City Manager and as a father of three, I share the reaction of anyone who hears about these disgusting allegations that prey on the innocence of children. We are fully cooperating with the LAPD investigation to ensure justice is done. We encourage anyone with relevant information to step forward and contact the LAPD.”
Jamieson was being investigated by LAPD, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the United States Homeland Security Investigations, Child Exploitation Investigations Group, according to the memo.
Jamieson is the third individual associated with the city to have been arrested on similar charges since 2014 and the second this year.
In 2014, Donald Condon was arrested and charged with five counts of child molestation. At least one case was related to a PAL field trip to Dodger Stadium where Condon was accused of taking surreptitious sexual pictures without consent while chaperoning a Santa Monica PAL event. At the time, Condon was said to have taken inappropriate photos of minors in a public place.
Condon worked at PAL, a city-backed nonprofit that serves area youth, but was eventually banned from all PAL locations and activities. The terms of his plea deal also prohibited him from attending any volunteer activities involving minors, and he is not allowed near his grandchildren without supervision.
In October of this year, Eric Uller was arrested and charged with several felonies related to the sexual abuse of a child. Uller was accused of abusing children through his volunteer work with PAL and was employed with the City’s information technology department at the time of his arrest. Uller made bail and then committed suicide in his Marina Del Rey home before facing trial.
Anyone with information about Jamieson is asked to call Detectives Lisa Kelly or Lisette Garcia at 562-624-4027.
madeleine@smdp.com
