Breier was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony in the murder trial of Thomas Drescher, who was convicted of killing Krishna dissenter Stephen Bryant on May 22, 1986 in Los Angeles. Breier, a security guard at a Hare Krishna temple, testified against Drescher, who was convicted.Bradbury’s letter noted that Breier knew that Drescher wanted to kill Bryant, let Drescher know where Bryant could be located and showed Drescher a location where the body could be disposed of.Cmdr. Hanson said that Breier put himself through a police academy where “he excelled. . .his other jobs highly recommended him to the SPPD.”Breier’s personal history statement “all checked out. . .somehow, all this happened before he started focusing on a law enforcement career and he dealt with it and left it behind him. His involvement in the homicide case did not show up anywhere; he was never charged, never arrested.”Cmdr. Hanson said nothing during Breier’s career as a SPPD officer ever indicated that he “ever lied, covered anything up or gave false testimony. . .in fact, attorneys were notified in February about this; isn’t it interesting that only one attorney is indicating he might challenge Mr. Breier’s testimony stemming from an incident that also involved other SPPD officers.”
SPPD Cmdr. Hanson: Nothing in background precluded hiring ex-officer
August 29, 2001
Santa Paula News
There was nothing in the background of a former Santa Paula Police officer - revealed to have been a prosecution witness in a Hare Krishna murder case in the mid-1980s - that would have precluded him from being hired, said SPPD Commander Mark Hanson.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesThere was nothing in the background of a former Santa Paula Police officer - revealed to have been a prosecution witness in a Hare Krishna murder case in the mid-1980s - that would have precluded him from being hired, said SPPD Commander Mark Hanson.Jeffrey Breier, a Santa Paula resident, served on the SPPD from 1993 to 1998, and his background had been “thoroughly checked,” Cmdr. Hanson noted. “Like many officers that come and go, he got the standard background check, nothing more and nothing less. He even passed a polygraph examination,” which, although not required, is used by the SPPD in the hiring of officers. “There was no indication that he had been involved in undetected crimes. . .this homicide was not an undetected crime. He was not arrested, not charged and treated like a witness, not a suspect. He testified in state and federal court and apparently wanted to put it all behind him.”District Attorney Michael Bradbury sent a letter in February to defense attorneys advising them of Breier’s involvement in the 1986 case. Breier had testified at about over 100 criminal trials while a member of the SPPD; there are no indications that he perjured himself while testifying as a police officer.But, Bradbury wrote, the information about Breier’s past “might have an impact on [his] credibility. . .”
