In total, Torrance police have confirmed 15 officers were placed on administrative leave as a result of the scandal. Please feel free to try again. Rich L.A. homeowners are snapping them up, Left-handed pitchers offer gold-like value for high school teams, Column: How I finally learned to care about Orange Countys crumbling coastline, Shipping firms to pay pipeline company nearly $100 million in O.C. The Times did not independently view documentation of racist text messages sent by any of those four officers, though the newspaper did review a document that showed Concannon sent messages that are part of the investigation. Thank you very much for providing the information we requested. If your department logs complaints in a database, spreadsheet, or other log, a copy of those logs is fine instead. The two officers responded to a report of mail theft in the South Bay city and directed a car linked to the crime to be towed from the scene, authorities said. Ive been pissed at Weldin since then, according to the affidavit. How many officer-involved-shootings were there per year for the last 10 years in your department? If citizen complaints are not taken seriously, it does increase the sense of impunity that officers who are inclined toward misconduct have, he said. WebGARDENA POLICE DEPARTMENT - 20 Photos & 43 Reviews - 1718 W 162nd St, Gardena, CA - Yelp Restaurants Home Services Auto Services Gardena Police Department 43 reviews Unclaimed Police Departments Edit Write a review Add photo Save Photos & videos See all 20 photos Add photo Review Highlights Saavedra has worked as a journalist since 1979 and has held positions at several Southern California newspapers before arriving at the Orange County Register in 1990. From what I can tell . The grand jury found that Torrance was one of only two police departments among those it reviewed that warned complainants that filing a false claim against a police officer is a misdemeanor. The cost for an oversight commission in Torrance varies heavily depending on what type of model the city would opt for. Additional officers received the texts but did not interact with them in any way, so they are not considered under investigation, those sources said. After one officer shared a news article about someone being arrested for urinating on a Black child and calling them the N-word, Satterfield replied, whats the crime? according to district attorneys records reviewed by The Times. Attorneys for Weldin and Tomsic did not return messages seeking comment. Even if the results of investigations are inconclusive, tracking complaints can provide an early warning system to identify and take corrective actions to improve employee conduct.. They have every complaint in California theyre not picking and choosing what theyre responding to, she said, adding that the state board will provide huge oversight.. That department is infected with the disease of denial . Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Best coffee city in the world? But theyve hit a snag, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre, A $150,000 executive protection dog? During an interview with investigators, tow driver Dunn initially said he didnt know anything about the damage, but later broke down and said he saw Tomsic spray painting the outside of the car. The tape showed them continuing to choke and beat Tice, who is white, well after he became unconscious. Although the Rastello case shocked much of Southern California, equally startling was a string of other cases--long kept in private police files and brought up at the trial--that offered a rare peek into disciplinary procedures at the department. The officers comments spared no color or creed: They joked about gassing Jewish people, assaulting members of the LGBTQ community, using violence against suspects and lying during an investigation into a police shooting, according to district attorneys office records reviewed by The Times. He eventually went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later. After years of such complaints, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating accusations of racist policing by Torrance, the countys third-largest police department. Compton, with a population of just 96,000, recorded 62 killings during the same period. Share & Bookmark, Press Enter to show all options, press Tab go to next option, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), Consolidated Plan: HOME, HOME-American Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP), Candidate Registration & Qualification Form, Torrance Police Department Quarterly Reports, Trust Building Campaign - Torrance Police Department Strategic Plan. Records operates on a round-the-clock basis, performing numerous tasks aiding our department, other law enforcement agencies, and the general public to gain access to necessary records. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires. The City Council, in a 6-1 vote on March 15, voted against the proposed city survey, arguing that existing oversight measures will be enough to eradicate any misconduct systemic or otherwise in the police department. If your department logs complaints in a database, spreadsheet, or other log, a copy of those logs is fine instead. John L. Fellows III calling the Justice Departments allegations totally groundless. Although a current racial breakdown of officers was not available, the government said that in 1992 only three of the departments 233 sworn officers (1.2%) were black, 15 (6.4%) were Latino and six (2.5%) were Asian. . An attorney for the union said the officers were barred from commenting on the investigation. Two of the officers under investigation as part of the scandal Anthony Chavez and Matthew Concannon are also under investigation for the controversial 2018 slaying of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell, a Black car theft suspect they fatally shot while he was holding an air rifle. I am writing to follow up on my original request made on 8/25/17. One of the suspects arrested there owned a Silver Hyundai Elantra parked on Maricopa. His stories have led to the closure of a chain of badly-run group homes, the end of a state program that placed criminals in inappropriate public jobs and the creation of a civilian oversight office for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, among other things. The identities of all 13 officers named in this article were confirmed by three people with direct knowledge of the case and by reviewing district attorneys records that detailed some of the officers comments. I questioned whether there was any other things that would lead us to believe that this is not sort of a single crime event, he said. But the blow that many believed would force change in the department came in 1989. In some of those cases, the plaintiffs are members of the same ethnic groups the officers espoused hatred for in the texts. Gascn has already publicly identified two of the men involved in the scandal as former Officers Cody Weldin and Christopher Tomsic, who were charged in August with conspiracy and vandalism for allegedly spray-painting a swastika inside a vehicle. This is a prime example of running away from local control and accountability and trying to delegate to some people far away who arent a part of the community.. Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. Im not going to tell you were not going to take some heat from time to time, but I think even good departments do that, Mayor Dee Hardison said. A report to the city council estimated the potential cost being anywhere from $233,000 to $711,000. Los Angeles, Randall Emmett, Ambyr Childers settle domestic violence restraining order dispute, Column: Supreme Court conservatives may want to block student loan forgiveness. A key purpose for receiving and investigating complaints is to identify law enforcement personnel that frequently or habitually engage in inappropriate behavior, the report said. with conspiracy and vandalism for allegedly spray-painting a swastika inside a vehicle. During the struggle, Tomsic said, Ross tried to gain control of his gun, according to a district attorneys office memo clearing the officers of criminal liability. Gen. Then, twice in three months, came federal civil rights lawsuits by citizens claiming that they were wrongfully stopped. Two former Torrance police officers were charged with spray-painting a swastika inside of a residents car, and prosecutors are now reviewing hundreds of cases involving the ex-cops, officials said. . Public records in theCalifornia Public Records Actare defined as any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the publics business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics. There is a separate category of purely personal information that, although it may be in the custody of a government agency, does not fall under the act. We the Peoplehave aRight to Knowaccording to the Supreme Court of the United States [SCOTUS], past Presidents (of both major political parties), Congress, and the United States Department of Justice. In total, the officers were listed as potential witnesses in nearly 1,400 cases in the last decade, according to district attorneys records The Times obtained through a public records request. . About 13 Torrance officers are on paid leave as the city and the state attorney general investigate the offensive texts, which include jokes about lynchings, gassing Jews and shooting Black men. What constitutes an officer-involved shooting in your department? Gascn said the texts are proof that some Torrance officers hate the communities they were hired to serve. The result: citations for a defective turn signal and a passenger not wearing a seat belt, both of which were later dismissed, the suit said. However, the investigation has already produced statements by several former officers claiming that the department not only tolerates racism, but teaches it. The Rastello familys attorneys, Browne Greene and Brian Panish of Santa Monica, had alleged that fellow officers protected Green by not testing his blood-alcohol level, altering witness statements and using one of the departments few untapped phone lines to report the accident to commanders. Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed. Sgt. Jose Esparza, 19, Luis Ortiz, 20, and Jose Rodriguez, 21, described similar comments by police in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against the department last month. Katz said the text messages call into question the credibility of the officers accounts of any past use-of-force incidents involving Black or Latino suspects. The complaints against Torrance allege a more intense racism. This is a brand new process for the state of California, and I think we have to see how it plays out, Councilmember Heidi Ann Ashcraft said in an interview Wednesday. The most controversial incident involving officers linked to the racist text scandal is the 2018 shooting death of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell. Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert did not respond to repeated calls and e-mails seeking information about the criminal case against the homeless man. Schroeder initiated contact with the man because he was sleeping in a park after it closed, the records show, and used the choke to take him down after an altercation. Torrance did indicate it would comply with most recommendations made by the grand jury though, including: Five of the police departments surveyed Torrance was not one of them did not use complaints to identify potential problems, which the grand jury concluded was the entire point of an effective complaint system. Torrance police vehicles outside the Gable House Bowl after a shooting in 2019. Judge Amy Carter will decide whether to suppress evidence from the personal cellphones of ex-officers Corey Weldin and Christopher Tomsic. Rollo Green--who, according to testimony, had a history of alcohol abuse--caused the death of Kelly Rastello, 19, of Long Beach, by making an illegal left-hand turn in front of the motorcyclist, jurors said. Prior to joining the Press-Telegram, she served as the Daily Breeze's lead city hall reporter. MuckRock is a non-profit collaborative news site that gives you the tools to keep our government transparent and accountable. The officers either declined to comment through their attorneys or did not respond to messages left by The Times at their homes or through their union, the Torrance Police Officers Assn., which represents rank-and-file officers. A Long Beach police spokesman said Schroeder was assigned to desk duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation, but would not say why. Share & Bookmark, Press Enter to show all options, press Tab go to next option, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), Consolidated Plan: HOME, HOME-American Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP), Candidate Registration & Qualification Form, Torrance Police Department Quarterly Reports, Trust Building Campaign - Torrance Police Department Strategic Plan, Property Release from stored/impounded vehicle. The invisible line arcs southeast across the top of Torrance, a theoretical border separating the crime-addled heart of Los Angeles County from the relative peace of its coastal suburbs. According to district attorneys records reviewed by The Times, Concannon once sent a troubling text message referring to a deposition he gave in an officer-involved shooting., They believed our lies. . You want to have a process that shines a light on whats going on and hold people accountable on a local, more granular level.. TheCalifornia Public Records Actis a series of laws meant to guarantee that the public has access to public records of governmental bodies in California. WebThe Torrance Police Department (California) Brady List is the definitive public-facing database of information about: police misconduct, public complaints, decertification, do Torrance was one of four cities surveyed that were not in compliance with that policy, which the state penal code requires. . I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not. On July 2, the Torrance City Attorneys Office filed a criminal complaint charging Lena Hernandez, with battery, a violation of California Penal Code Section 242. A knife was recovered at the scene. Changes need to be made in the Torrance Police Department, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said this week in announcing an independent investigation into the text messages. District attorneys records reviewed by The Times showed Tomsic sent a slew of racist images and messages, including a picture of former President Reagan feeding a monkey with a caption stating Reagan used to babysit [former President] Obama.. From: Alexander Cartwright and Jennifer Dirmeyer, Subject: California Public Records Act Request: Torrance, CA PD Citizen Complaints. They just go too far over there., Adds David Lynn, a Venice-based private investigator who specializes in police misconduct cases: As far as harassing minorities . Johao Miguel Chavarri, 26, threatened the victims through social media platforms if they refused his request for explicit photos or videos. He declined to offer a timetable on that review and would not say whether the officers involvement in the text scandal would affect that probe. Atty. . Attorneys for the former officers contend the phones were obtained through a search warrant that was overly broad and violates Californias digital privacy law. 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If you have questions about this request or suggestions, we would be happy to discuss them with you. County prosecutors had tossed 35 felony cases as of mid-November, and the Torrance city attorneys office has dismissed an additional 50, officials said. I really appreciate it. We have a group of officers who, apparently in addition to harboring very biased and racist beliefs, also may be engaging in inappropriate force that could be illegal in some cases, he said. oil spill, Column: Column: Hydrogen cars should be a bigger part of Californias battle against carbon emissions, Sikh motorcyclist joins a cross-country ride against hate: I have to do this, How to connect formerly incarcerated people with jobs in L.A. County. Weldin did not deny painting the car even after the tow driver asked him to come clean, said the affidavit. Which of the above data are published publicly? They said they were stopped, pulled from their car at gunpoint, berated with racial threats during a 2 1/2-hour search, told to leave town and not come back--and escorted to the San Diego Freeway. Jeremy White and Eugene Pesikov sued Torrance and several individual police officers last year. Please find attached the information requested in your email. 3300 Civic Center Dr. Certainly, 1994 brought more unwanted attention to the department. Learn more. The findings were outlined in a grand jury report titled Policing the Police that investigated how the public could make complaints against police officers in a dozen county cities, including Inglewood and Culver City in addition to Torrance. The picture above it showed several Black men who had been lynched. Review comes amidst allegations of excessive force, racist text messages, and other discriminatory misconduct. The panel also found Torrance was the only city it studied that indicated a police officer may bring a civil action against a complainant who falsely accuses a police officer of misconduct, criminal conduct or incompetence. Critics of the department have a different term for the line of demarcation: the Great White Wall, they call it, a racial boundary that they believe is patrolled with apartheid vengeance by the overwhelmingly white Torrance Police Department. Although the officers actions were found to be justified in each case, experts say those cases should be reexamined in the context of the hateful messages. Some City Council members said they went outside the department for a chief because of unhappiness at the number of suits against the city. in which police officers believe a white boy traveling with two blacks is unusual, or an indication of potential crime., Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Best coffee city in the world? I am in receipt of your request and I am attempting to locate the information requested and will attempt to have it to you as soon as possible. Want the latest investigative and FOIA news? Daniels, who is black, moved to Torrance from Michigan this summer to pursue an acting career, and claims that he was pulled over seven times in three months yet never cited. Another picture he sent referred to an African American baby as a Pet Niguana, according to the records, and he also sent a message mocking the fact that he was the subject of a racial profiling complaint. WebTorrance Police Department Internal Affairs. A Long Beach officer who was a Torrance recruit has been suspended without pay. According to an investigation by The Times, the theft of 44 guns from an L.A. gun store has spurred a cascade of allegations against LAPD officers and a roiling department scandal. Some individuals may be reluctant to file a complaint for fear of reprisal from the officer or officers they are complaining against or the police department itself, the grand jury report added. Gascn praised Torrance Police Chief Jeremiah Hart for moving quickly to provide information to prosecutors, noting he met resistance from police leaders when investigating similar scandals involving racist text messages among San Francisco officers. Minutes later, firefighters on scene noted Ross pulse was beginning to weaken. for having expired tags, for having a taillight out. Simple traffic stops often result in crimes being solved and wanted criminals apprehended, he added. WebThe Torrance Police Department is happy to assist you in obtaining or reviewing any records, documents, or reports to which you are legally entitled. Improving the availability of complaint forms to the public by making them available in multiple locations with clear signage indicating where they specifically can be found. WebCurrent Announcements for Positions. Dunn also received a text message from Weldin apologizing for the damage, the affidavit said. WebThe Torrance Police Department has made vigorous efforts to achieve this status, and it is our desire to provide the means whereby it might be sustained. The Times identified 13 officers in its investigation, including Tomsic, Weldin and Schroeder, meaning there are an additional five Torrance officers under investigation whose identities remain unknown to the public. While I am understanding of the pressures borne by the police, I do not wish my son to live in a world in which he and his friends are confronted and ordered about by two officers at gunpoint, in which he is intimidated and traumatized by uniformed thugs . Providing the complainant a copy of their own statement at the time a complaint is filed. The council also referenced Senate Bill 2 which will allow the state to decertify police officers who commit serious misconduct, and will establish a statewide oversight board as a reason not to pursue a locally-controlled oversight body. That board wont begin work until early 2023 and the nine-member panel will be tasked with the review of innumerable complaints lodged with police departments across the entire state of California including complaints lodged throughout 2022. In 1988, two Torrance police officers were caught on video choking and clubbing Thomas Tice, 20, at a Sunday afternoon party. What is the total number of complaints police officers made against their peer officers (sometimes called internal complaints) in department annually for the last 10 years? In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. Tice and five other party-goers settled a lawsuit against the city for $105,000. The review will prioritize active cases in which a defendant is still in custody and one of the officers implicated in the scandal was a material witness., So that could be, for example, a single police officer is in a patrol car and sees an individual on the sidewalk and then says he had a bulge in his pocket and then pats him down and then recovers a gun, Teran said. Dunn then placed a monitored call to Tomsic, who tried to blame Weldin, saying, Weldin is the instigator of all this. City officials say they are highly skeptical of both stories. Grand jury investigation spurs Torrance to, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Grand jury investigation spurs Torrance to change police-complaint forms, Hermosa Beach Police arrest 2 men suspected in shooting attempt, LAPD union wants to hand nonviolent calls over to to unarmed responders, Lunafest returns as a live event in Redondo Beach on March 5, Retired LA Kings star Dustin Brown honored in Hermosa Beach, grand jury report titled Policing the Police, Alpine Village, for decades a German American hub, faces unknown future, Real snow falls at Disneyland not the fake soapy stuff, Is there a problem with paying cash for a car? Additionally, they say, investigators allegedly reviewed confidential attorney-client messages on the phones as well as the officers medical information. The city indicated the forms previously only available at the Police Department can now be found in the City Clerks Office and City Hall lobby as well. . In Torrances 2021 Strategic Plan a report that gathers data from city departments, local businesses and residents via randomized surveys and focus groups to determine what issues to prioritize found that creating an independent oversight commission was listed as a key concern for residents. In Torrance, the Police and Fire Departments costs make up 65% of the citys general fund budget. Every investigation, therefore, is undertaken with the dual objective of opening channels of communications between the department and the community, and maintaining an on-going review of Department Services and Policies. The fate of two former Torrance police officers may rest Monday with a Superior Court judge who has been asked to throw out evidence that the officers shared Please include documentation regarding how many of these officer-involved shootings involved disciplinary action. Pursuant to the California Public Records Act (California Government Code 6250), I hereby request the following records: We are Economics Professors in the College of Business at Ferris State University, and are engaged in an empirical research project on police behavior and citizen complaints. According to the district attorneys records reviewed by The Times, Schroeder sent one message in the texts reading No Jews, No Blacks, and made racist remarks about a child eating a watermelon. Frequently, hateful comments were targeted at Black people. As such, we do not have access to facts of the underlying investigation, or the alleged inappropriate materials. TheCalifornia Public Records Actdoes not regulate the use of records obtained from public agencies. We dont have the money to do it at the level they (California) do, Ashcraft said. Several of the Torrance officers under investigation as part of the scandal have also used serious or deadly force against Black and Latino men while on duty in recent years, according to district attorneys records. For example, some departments do not count misses while others count all discharges; some include shots at animals. If you wish to file a formal complaint, it will be necessary for you to complete a personnel complaint form (provided below). The inquiry is an expansion of a probe that began in 1993, when the government sued Torrance to stop what it described as racially biased hiring practices in the citys police and fire departments. maybe its something else. (Please list officer firearm discharge directed at a person separately from a shooting involving an animal and separately from accidental firearm discharges). We expect that as police officers, our members should be treated like any other citizen considered innocent until proven guilty, the union said in a statement. Within weeks, Torrance police provided the district attorneys office with more than 200 gigabytes of data, which showed the officers had been exchanging racist messages since at least 2018, according to Teran, the advisor to the district attorney. The complaints against Torrance allege a more intense racism. A city of 137,000, Torrance had 12 homicides while nearby Inglewood, with 112,000 residents, had 45. I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 25, 2017. Concannon, Chavez and fellow Torrance Police Officers Andrew Kissinger and Enrique Villegas are also under investigation as part of the scandal, according to three people with direct knowledge of the case and a review of district attorneys records. The accountability measures are very clearly laid out, and has benchmark measures that the police department will have to meet, he said, noting that the TPD will submit complaints dating back to 2020 to the state board. The officers repeatedly ordered Mitchell to get out of the car, but he did not comply, according to the report. For assistance (and) until the City Council and the city manager recognize that theres a problem, there wont be a solution.. Beverly Hills attorney Howard Price, who represented many of the plaintiffs in the lawsuits, said Friday that the nature of the phone texts made it appear that racism was ingrained in the department.
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