LAUSD superintendent fined for unlawfully flashing school police badge

POMONA -- The former superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District pleaded no contest today to a misdemeanor charge that he unlawfully flashed a police badge and ordered a woman to pull over.

Ruben Zacarias, 81, was ordered in Pomona Superior Court to return the badge to the Los Angeles School Police, fined $250, and ordered to pay a $100 restitution fee, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Zacarias, of Alhambra, was accused of flashing a school police badge at a female driver July 23 while he was driving on the 57 Freeway in Pomona.

Police accused Zacarias of telling the woman he was "a cop" and ordering her to pull over.

Zacarias was superintendent at LAUSD for about two years in the 1990s. He has been retired for about 10 years, his attorney said in a September interview.