Torrance police sustained 35 out of 43 internally generated complaints of officer misconduct from 2016 to 2020, Ponegalek said. When the jury returned with its massive award to the Rastello family, it said the department had a pattern and practice of whitewashing incidents of officer misconduct. An attorney for the union said the officers were barred from commenting on the investigation. Dan Mason, Lohren Price and Nicholas Cramer had just celebrated their graduation from a pricey Studio City prep school by taking in a screening of Beverly Hills Cop III. On their way back to Inglewood, where two of the youths lived, they were stopped, ordered from the car at gunpoint, patted down and made to sit cross-legged on the sidewalk while two Torrance officers searched the car for nearly an hour. 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. 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. The warrant was obtained in March that year with an affidavit that lays out the genesis of the text debacle that has made national headlines. in communication and M.S. Sgt. . Such claims represent one of the most sensitive areas of police-citizen relations and were cited as a fundamental cause of both the 1965 Watts riots and the broader 1992 Los Angeles riots. Country: United States Address 1: 340 Blount Ave City: Guntersville State: Alabama Zip Code: 35976-1106 County: Marshall County Phone #: 256-571-7571 Fax #: 256-571-7570 Police1 is revolutionizing the way The text messages were not on one continuous thread, according to two of the sources. The officers described the weapon, later determined to be a break barrel air rifle, as pinched between Mitchells legs, though neither alleged he grabbed it or pointed it at them before they opened fire. Long Beach police officials determined the use of force was justified, the records show. Both the department and residents cite relatively low crime statistics as evidence of the departments success. The Records Division public counter is located in the main lobby of the Police Department. In addition to Weldin, Tomsic and Chandler, The Times has reviewed district attorneys records detailing racist texts or images shared by six other police officers: Blake Williams, Brian Kawamoto, Joshua Satterfield, Omar Alonso, Christopher Allen-Young and Long Beach Police Officer Maxwell Schroeder, who is a former Torrance police recruit. 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. - William O. Douglas, Associate Justice (1939 - 1975), Peace Officer Standards & Training [POST] Departments, Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, Supreme Court of the United States [SCOTUS]. The Police Departments recent racist text-messagingscandal in which the officers responsible for Mitchells death participated has onlyfurtheredcalls for more robust police accountability. Every time I turn around, somebody has a complaint against them, said Royce Esters, president of the Compton National Assn. Sincerely,Alexander Cartwright and Jennifer Dirmeyer. WebTorrance, CA 90503-5056 310-618-5529 The Records Division is a service support unit within the Services Bureau. 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 . According to a Times review of public records, Concannon has shot only one person during his career: Christopher DeAndre Mitchell. The officers hit Ross with a Taser and handcuffed him, but he continued to struggle, according to the report, which then described two officers kneeling on Ross shoulders. 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. Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. George Gascn. Please explain to us how your department classifies the OIS included in the numbers you sent to us. WebServices include abandoned vehicle reporting/removal, adult fingerprinting, adult sexual assault prevention, business security evaluations, crime prevention, crime victim support, Prosecutors are reviewing dozens of additional cases linked to the officers, said Diana Teran, a special advisor to Los Angeles County Dist. Saavedra has covered the Los Angeles riots, the O.J. Concannon and Chavez pulled in behind him, exited their vehicle and yelled police! Mitchell initially placed his hands on the steering wheel, according to the memo, but when the officers approached him, they noticed his hands move toward his lap where Concannon saw what he believed to be a firearm. California Atty. Compton, with a population of just 96,000, recorded 62 killings during the same period. Tomsic answered, Yeah it was Weldin, dude, I know.. But theyve hit a snag, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre, A $150,000 executive protection dog? Weldin and Tomsic are accused of spray-painting a swastika on a vehicle impounded from a theft suspect in January 2020. Daniels claims that one officer made racial threats during such a stop, and Daniels made a formal complaint against him. One of the suspects arrested there owned a Silver Hyundai Elantra parked on Maricopa. Newly disclosed text messages in which a trio of San Francisco Police Department officers referred to minorities as barbarians, cockroaches and other slurs should trigger an even larger review of past criminal cases for signs of racial bias, according to the citys public defender. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Torrance--as well as others against El Monte, Alhambra and Pomona--claiming that the police and fire departments discriminated against minorities during hiring. 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. 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. 1 3 are answered and 4 is No. 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. According to their attorney, they were not cited. Youll get pulled over.. 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. A Torrance police officer has been charged with assault for his role in a 2018 shooting. In court documents recently filed by the government, former officers--some of whom are minorities fired after probationary periods--said two epithetic slogans are commonly used within the department. Lopez had been fleeing police in a truck, and the officers said he attempted to ram them when they opened fire, according to a district attorneys office memo that determined the fatal shooting was justified. The caption read hanging with the homies.. The cost for an oversight commission in Torrance varies heavily depending on what type of model the city would opt for. Another photo asked what someone should do if their girlfriend was having an affair with a Black man. 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. Gavin Newsom declares state of emergency for LA, San Bernardino counties due to severe winter storms, 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? Web47 6 thatphanom.techno@gmail.com 042-532028 , 042-532027 If you wish to file a formal Those people spoke on the condition of anonymity so they could candidly discuss an ongoing investigation. Another officer then sat on Ross legs before others were able to bind Ross arms and legs with a hobble restraint.. 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. 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. for having expired tags, for having a taillight out. Simple traffic stops often result in crimes being solved and wanted criminals apprehended, he added. The 2017-2018 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury observed in the course of its investigation that effective community relations and public trust can be earned through an open and accessible complaint process.. Dunn then placed a monitored call to Tomsic, who tried to blame Weldin, saying, Weldin is the instigator of all this. One should allow 10 days for an agency to comply with a records request. 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. Torrance also reported fewer rapes, robberies and other violent crimes. 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.. . 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. Frequently, hateful comments were targeted at Black people. Good job sticking to the script, he wrote. Several of the officers have also been named as defendants in lawsuits alleging excessive force, false arrest and wrongful death, court filings show. How many officer-involved-shootings were there per year for the last 10 years in your department? The exact number of officers involved in the scandal is unclear. The 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. 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. 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? 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. Chavez, Williams, Satterfield and Tomsic all opened fire on Michael Lopez in 2017 after a vehicle pursuit that started in Palos Verdes Estates. Investigators had Dunn phone Weldin while they listened in on the call. . Civil rights activists and police watchdog groups claim that the department is among the most racially biased and militaristic in Southern California. In a four-page letter written earlier this month to Superior Court Presiding Judge Daniel J. Buckley, City Manager LeRoy Jackson said the city had complied with the grand jurys recommendation and removed such warnings from its complaint forms and related materials.. Usually, conversations always seemed to circle back to vile insults or depictions of violence against Black people. 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. The tape showed them continuing to choke and beat Tice, who is white, well after he became unconscious. 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. And its not new., De Ladurantey flatly denies that his officers pull over motorists because of the color of their skin, but acknowledges that part of a police officers job is to sense deviation. The complaints against Torrance allege a more intense racism. Now every time I see you, Im going to arrest you, Daniels recalled. 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. Torrance will not survey residents to determine the communitys support for an independent oversight commission to monitor the police department effectively shutting down activists and residents years-long calls for more robust accountability of law enforcement in the city. But the blow that many believed would force change in the department came in 1989. The incident sparked significant protests including one inside Torrances City Council chambers that led demonstrators to file excessive-force lawsuits against several of the officers The Times identified in this article and remains under review by Gascn. Ive been pissed at Weldin since then, according to the affidavit. charged Officer David Chandler with assault in late August for allegedly shooting an armed man in the back, Torrance police officer linked to racist text message scandal is charged in 2018 shooting, similar scandals involving racist text messages among San Francisco officers, More racist text messages uncovered among San Francisco police officers. Weldin did not deny painting the car even after the tow driver asked him to come clean, said the affidavit. Although the current race-related lawsuits have shined a stark and unflattering light on the force, it is not the first time that Torrance police have come under legal scrutiny. 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. Three years into De Laduranteys tenure, though, critics question whether much has changed. (Please list officer firearm discharge directed at a person separately from a shooting involving an animal and separately from accidental firearm discharges). From 2016 to 2019, Torrance police upheld just three citizen allegations of police misconduct and zero allegations of racial profiling made against officers, according to data submitted to the California attorney generals office. Lacey cleared the officers of wrongdoing in all three deaths, but Gascn has reopened the investigation into Mitchells killing . Torrance Police Department I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 25, 2017. The impound yard agreed to pay the owner $2,750 for the damage, although there was no evidence the business was at fault, said the affidavit. 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. 2. Torrance Police Chief Joe De Ladurantey calls the boundary a geographic crust and freely acknowledges that his 249 officers patrol it aggressively.. Prior to joining the Press-Telegram, she served as the Daily Breeze's lead city hall reporter. This isnt just a lone wolf, this is a huge group.. The grand jury also said that only three police departments in the county have any sort of civilian oversight. Simpson case, the downfall of Orange County Sheriff-turned felon Michael S. Carona and the use of unauthorized drugs by Olympian Carl Lewis. Rob Bonta said Wednesday his office will investigate the department in the wake of the scandal. Some City Council members said they went outside the department for a chief because of unhappiness at the number of suits against the city. Then, twice in three months, came federal civil rights lawsuits by citizens claiming that they were wrongfully stopped. 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. Torrance Police Department is notin compliancewith: This information has been curated by journalists andprivate citizens; and, this platform is available as-a-service to allPeace Officer Standards & Training [POST] Departments,Prosecutors, andLaw Enforcement Organizations [LEOrgs]. His work has been recognized by the National Headliner Club, the Associated Press Sports Editors, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association and the Orange County Press Club. 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