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So yesterday we all met with the new Interim Police Chief (and probable next permanent Chief) Raul Quezada – at his request. “We” was Donna Acevedo (mother of cop-slain Joey Acevedo), Theresa Smith (mother of cop-slain Caesar Cruz), Dr Jose Moreno and me tagging along. Quezada brought along Captain Julian Harvey.
The Spanish-speaking son of a Mexican immigrant, and Deputy Chief since last summer’s “unrest,” Quezada is smooth and well-spoken – which we all already knew – but appears to really want to make some positive changes and have a respectful dialogue with the community. Still let’s not succumb to a man-crush just yet, until we see some real change, some of which should be immediate, some of which may take a year.
And of course he doesn’t have the permanent job yet. He will have to be approved by the Council majority, which we all know will do whatever the Anaheim Police Association tells them. So … will he support a Citizens’ Review Board, unlike his predecessor and the APA? Will he support phasing out gang injunction zones? Will he admit that despite what his predecessor claimed, the July 24 riot was a spontaneous local reaction to real grievances and not the work of “outside agitators” and Occupy? We hope so, but we knew better than to ask at this point.
He said he’s open to meeting with us any time in the future, including as soon as he’s Chief.
What we DID talk about
Our immediate concern, which has been making all the press this week, was our request to have officers like Kelly Phillips and Dan Hurtado moved out of the neighborhoods where they killed young men, and continue to boast, harass the survivors, and (in Kelly’s case) intimidate witnesses in an ongoing investigation. Theresa and Donna both have the impression he is really going to do something about this, although he didn’t really commit to it and emphasized how complicated it is to re-assign gang unit members. But he does realize the seriousness of this issue and the legitimacy of the relatives’ complaints.
Donna filling out a complaint form at the police station, underneath one of their slogans.
This brings up “policies” – it’s been impossible for us to know when cops are not following policy, as the webpage listing the APD policies has been “under construction” as long as anyone can remember. Captain Harvey apologized for that, and had hoped to have the policies online by this week, and promises they will be up next week. This is a complaint he’s heard at meetings and read on the blogs, and to which he is doing his best to respond. The policies are 350 pages long, and a few of those pages are being redacted because they are “tactical.”
Wanting to demonstrate how responsive the new improved APD is under his watch, Quezada pointed out how complaint forms, once nearly impossible to find, are now available online, at the library, and right in front at the police station. They can be filled out anonymously if residents are afraid of reprisal. We all agreed that 19 complaints in one year is a ridiculously low number for such a huge city with so much “unrest.” Quezada wondered how we can make people feel more comfortable about coming forward – the first problem is obviously fear of retaliation, including deportation or eviction (see below) – but I also brought up that people probably feel it’s useless and nothing will happen. Which led us again to this point: when people start seeing RESULTS from complaints – like the moving of killer cops from their neighborhoods – they may feel like there’s a point complaining.
Treating Donna like a real community leader, which was nice to see, Quezada and Harvey repeatedly asked how the APD could improve relations with the Guinida neighborhood. Again, we emphasized that “Moving Phillips would be a good start” – also moving the bald lunkhead who knocked over Joey’s memorial – but of course it will take a lot more and a lot more time.
Raul Sez: Film the Police!
Both Quezada and Harvey strongly affirmed that it’s the citizens’ First Amendment right – confirmed in countless court cases – to film the police (which has become all the rage in Santa Ana and Anaheim.) They agree that – at least theoretically – this protects the cops as much as it protects the people. Ergo, the Anaheim cops should not be preventing us from filming them, right?
This didn’t occur to me till after the meeting, but I know all you cops read this blog, so: There are at least two things that the Gang Unit (at least) has been doing to prevent filming, which it seems to me should now be against policy and forbidden by the new leadership:
- Shining bright lights directly at the people who are trying to film them at night, making everything invisible.
- Forming human shields around the area of what they’re doing so that nobody can see.
Shouldn’t these practices be prohibited, if it’s our right to Film the Police?
As a flip side to their (claimed) embracing of FTP, Quezada and Harvey made what they intended to be one of their most important points: Many community members (including Donna) are coming very close to being arrested for OBSTRUCTING the work of police who respond to calls – Penal Code 148, they want us all to know. This would mostly consist of getting in their way physically – I think we need to stay 20 feet away when filming them if they ask us to – but he also brought up people yelling something like “Don’t shoot him!” which the cops could take as a warning that somebody was about to shoot THEM. You can see that it could be hard to know if you’re “obstructing” – I asked if people could be warned first that they’re obstructing and they said if there’s time but there’s not always time.
New, big, developing problem – punitive evictions
Just as we think we’re beginning to get some abuses straightened out, new ones pop up. I’ll mention this first here since I know you cops read this blog, but we’ll have to bring this to the Chief too, as well as the ACLU: Certain members of the neighborhood – including one key witness to Joel’s killing as well as a family who regularly Films The Police, are now being threatened with EVICTION from their apartments after the cops complained FALSELY to the landlords about drug and gang connections that DON’T EXIST.
So, let’s move forward with all this, yes?
It’s a start. Some one ought to tell the big mouse that really runs Anaheim that the citizens of Anaheim want a piece of the pie. Shame on APD, The communities are organizing and uniting, Change, real changes need to occur.
Go get a job at Knott’s Latino Farm if you don’t like it! James Robert Reade
I’m not familiar with “Knott’s Latino Farm,” JRR. Have you told that joke before? Has anyone laughed at it? Who?
Vern, if you were indeed the knowledgeable expert on Anaheim politics tat you claim to be, you would know that “Make Kindness Contagious” is not an APD slogan, but rather part of Mayor Tom Tait’s long-standing kindness campaign.
Duh. Of course it originated with Tom. But it’s hanging in the APD lobby, dominating the whole space, so I say that makes it a slogan of theirs. If it’s not they should take it down. If you disagree argue with Tom. His aim is to make kindness contagious, and that includes slogans about contagious kindness becoming contagious themselves. Suck on THAT!
Congratulations, Vern. You know that you’ve done a good job when you flush Matt into the open here — and this was a very good job.
Yeah well you know Matt, when he’s around there’s always flushing involved.
Oh, and Matt Cunningham outed sex abuse victims.
One of the latest complaints is citizens reporting that officers are not wearing name badges or sharing their names when asked. This is a violation of State law.
CAL. PEN. CODE § 830.10 : California Code – Section 830.10 Any uniformed peace officer shall wear a badge, nameplate, or other device which bears clearly on its face the identification number or name of the officer.
Any department that condones this behavior is on a slippery slope. For those who shout “if he is innocent why did he run?” I ask, “if he’s a good cop, why cover who he is?”
And,”If the cops are doing nothing wrong, why do they
1. turn off their DAR’s at the beginning of an encounter right when you’d *think* they’d be turning it on;
2. form a human shield so nobody can see what they’re doing; and
3. shine bright lights continuously at people who try to film their activities at night?”
As important is
4. “How do we get them to agree to stop — and enforce that agreement?”
California Government Code Section 1222
1222. Every willful omission to perform any duty enjoined by law
upon any public officer, or person holding any public trust or
employment, where no special provision is made for the punishment of
such delinquency, is punishable as a misdemeanor.
Code Section 6969.
Go on a date with German Santos!
I’m a little confused about the reference.
Here’s California Health and Safety Code §6969:
Here’s California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Division 1. Department of Industrial Relations, Chapter 4. Division of Industrial Safety, Subchapter 17. Mine Safety Orders, Article 5. Care of Injured
And it goes on. Which of these involves “a date with German Santos” — or was it something else? (There’s no §6969 of the California Penal Code. Precision is important!
Based on my 15+ year love affair with this local law enforcement community (Garden Grove PD/Anaheim PD/Orange County Sheriffs Department/California Highway patrol/the rest of OC law enforcement/FBI), there is so much to comment on here.
In my opinion, no law enforcement officer that has been with the Anaheim PD from the 1990’s or earlier should be allowed to take on the title of Police Chief. No one. At a minimum, you looked the other way as your OC colleagues defecated on the federal civil rights laws of this nation (specifically 18USC241 – all parts of this criminal code). At worse, you participated in the criminal affair. That someone was chosen from this period is a clear indication to me that this police department has no intentions of changing for the better but rather more concerned about saving many hides from residing in federal prison.
Based on Quezada’s first 10 days in the role of Chief – absolutely no difference for me personally – same old/same old. Just like there was no difference from Gaston to Baker or from Baker to Welter. Same old “I-was-just-following-orders-protect-your-own-no-matter-the-consequences-or-implications” attitude. In other words, just like a gang member – we’ll protect you no matter what law we have to break. Therefore, any commentary from this interim Chief about how we don’t need a “civilian review board” should render him unfit to serve in that role. The city of Anaheim would be much better served with his retirement.
“how complicated it is to re-assign gang unit members”
Kelly Philips interacting with a witnesses in a pending investigation involving someone’s death. Weak sauce Mr. Quezada. I wonder what my Manhattan neighbor Mrs. Francis Lehrich (the first female member of the Yale journal and one of the first female magistrates in the city of New York) would think of your comments.
“the APD policies has been under construction”
Classic arrogance of several OC law enforcement departments. We don’t need to inform you of our policies because we are above the law and we have plenty of protection in the DA’s office and the OC courts.
Mr. Condon from the Anaheim police association also made the point about how there were few complaints. Mr. Condon, the “few” complaints are more an indication of your police departments elevation of the practice of intimidation to a fine art form. One gets the impression that it is an art form that has been practiced for the entirety of this department’s history.
“Quezada wondered how we can make people feel more comfortable about coming forward”
Again, not very honest Mr. Quezada. You know exactly how to solve a lot of this embedded fear. Your department is the source.
The presumably white bald lunkhead cop who desecrated a Catholic memorial site (as I mentioned on the Anaheim blog) is eerily reminiscent of the KKK infested Anaheim PD of the 1920’s that persecuted white German Catholics.
News flash to the Anaheim PD. The Constitution of the United States, the First Circuit court of appeals, the Supreme court and a statement of interest submitted by the United States Justice department to the United States District Court for the district of Maryland have already reaffirmed a citizen’s right to film the police in the course of their duties. The statement of interest was the most revealing: the US government advised the court to take any charges by police where the defendant was filming the police as possible bullshit (OK they phrased it differently “view such charges skeptically to ensure that individuals’ First Amendment rights are protected”).
How about providing clear guidelines for someone filming police during an encounter so that your officer’s can’t just make up arbitrary rules in order to cite and/or arrest a person exercising his right to film the police for everyone’s safety.
“cops complained FALSELY to the landlords about drug and gang connections that DON’T EXIST”
An act of deliberate, premeditated, malice-of-forethought reputation destruction occurring during the reign of terror of Stan Knee (GGPD), Randall Gaston (APD), Brad Gates (Orange County Sheriffs) etc. is what began my love affair with law enforcement operating in Orange County, CA. My reputation was demolished with every police/sheriffs department in LA/OC/San Diego county including private security (for example security in both apartment complexes in which I have resided, mall security etc.). So the allegation of deliberate reputation destruction by this police department is absolutely credible. It is literally a bread-and-butter tactic by these cops of Orange County law.
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Sorry to be such a drag Vern Nelson. And thank you so very much for shedding light on these issues. Very honorable and courageous of you.
And to anyone that is offended: I sat at the Garden Grove city council quietly for a year hoping that someone would do the right thing. No one did the right thing. And then I began to speak out. And 85+ weeks later I’m still waiting for someone to do the right thing.
Link to the United States “Statement of Interest” to the US District Court for the district of Maryland on the topic of “filming the police” mentioned in my prior post:
http://images.politico.com/global/2013/03/08/garcia_doj_soi_03-04-13.html
Of all people in this world that need to be filmed, it’s police officers. They break the law and get away with it all too often. Punishment for officers that break the law should be at least double as well. Police officers would get a lot more respect and citizens would feel a lot safer for it.
Gang members should be filmed as well. I filmed gang member drug dealers at Little People’s Park and they cursed and pouted and flashed gang signs at me. James Robert Reade
Hey, it’s James Robert Reade! This will be fun.
JRR, just so that we’re clear on this, an upraised middle finger is not a “gang sign.”
You keep doing that James, it sounds like a great job for you. In fact, the whole city would appreciate it very much if you put ALL your time into this task. Remember, the most important drug deals out there take place LATE at night. You should equip yourself with an infra-red camera if you want good results, it will also allow you to get real close to the gangbangers without being detected. Godspeed, brother…
That’s cruel, Vern. You know damn well that he also has to wear a green shirt with brown slacks, so he can pass for a tree.
FTG
Film The Gangbangers.
Have you taken that proposal to the Anaheim City Council, JRR? Presuming so, what reaction have you gotten from which members of the Council?