San Rafael police open to some oversight
In person and by teleconference, San Rafael residents joined a city forum this week asking for reform in a police department that many said frightened them.
The event at the Albert J. Boro Community Center on Wednesday was the latest in a series of “policing in our community” forums since video of a bloody arrest in the Canal neighborhood in July sparked outrage in the city.
The release of the video set off days of demonstrations, with at least one more planned for later this month, by residents angry at what they see as the overpolicing of San Rafael's immigrant and lower-income communities and people of color.
The man who was arrested, Julio Jimenez Lopez, 37, was injured after police questioned him and other men about their open containers of alcohol next to a street. Police alleged that Jimenez Lopez refused commands to stay seated and then put an officer in a headlock during the ensuing struggle to detain him.
Jimenez Lopez has filed a claim against the city that alleges assault, battery, negligence, false arrest, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unreasonable search and seizure and excessive force by police.
Some of
Wednesday the attendees were curious about the status of the administrative investigation into officers Daisy Mazariegos and Brandon Nail, who were involved in Jimenez Lopez's arrest. They have been on paid leave while a city consultant, former Santa Rosa police lieutenant Paul Henry, reviews their conduct and that of the other officers and supervisors.
Other residents were worried for their own safety, and about how to communicate with police officers without fear. Others said they had taken notice of officers working to engage the community in recent months, and that they appreciate the effort.
Since the forums began in October, police have narrowed their goal down to five principle objectives, according to a department handout for the forum: to “improve feelings of safety and security”; “improve transparency, communications and accountability”; “increase cultural competencies, empathy and customer service skills”; “build trust and improve relationships with the community”; and “increase diversity of the police department workforce.”
On the safety side, the city has worked with the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to have 40 new streetlights installed in the Canal neighborhood later this year, moved its Special Operations Unit from downtown to the Canal area and sent additional traffic officers to patrol the Canal, police Capt. Ray Leon told the
group Wednesday.
At the end of March, a non-police Alternative Response Team will start taking over calls for service for mental health and qualityof-life issues, Leon said.
Along with more patrols and street lights, the city is considering surveillance cameras in the Canal area and “additional traffic control methods to deter speeding, sideshows and running through stop signs,” according to the department's statement.
Officers have taken new training courses on diversity and made trips to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, Leon said. The department's leadership team has taken classes on emotional intelligence, he said.
A topic that has arisen at these forums and other meetings and demonstrations has been setting up a civilian review board or body to oversee the police
department.
“We will continue to explore the implementation of some form of police oversight and community involvement,” Leon said.
The department is ramping up its community outreach with “coffee with a cop”-style informal meetings and is working to educate residents on the different ways to file complaints against the department, data and statistics on police activity and other local
goings-on.
The department has also committed to hiring more bilingual officers and to increase its own diversity, according to its statement.
Residents who went to Wednesday's meeting said their own interactions with police officers have been frightening and stressful. They offered suggestions like unarmed patrols in the Canal area and having independent intermediaries or a committee of residents
communicate the neighborhood's concerns to the department.
While several residents asked about Mazariegos and Nail, city officials said they could not discuss the matter in detail since it was still under investigation.
Henry has completed the interview phase of his investigation and is expected to deliver his report to the city later this month. City Attorney Rob Epstein has said the report might remain confidential unless it specifies that officers used unreasonable or excessive force, made false statements, failed to intervene against excessive force or caused “great bodily injury” to Jimenez Lopez.
Meanwhile, a protest march is being organized for March 31 on behalf of Jimenez Lopez and to demand police accountability. Marchers will gather at 4 p.m. at North San Pedro Road and Peter Behr Drive outside the Marin County Civic Center and march to San Rafael City Hall after speeches and performances, according to a flyer for the march.