San Rafael must act following bloody arrest

I am writing about the 2022 arrest of a man who has accused members of the San Rafael Police Department of beating him after they approached him for having open alcoholic beverages in a remote parking lot (“San Rafael hit with claim over bloody police arrest,” Jan. 31).

Last July, the distraught wife of our gardener called to inform us that her husband had been arrested. She said he was being transported from MarinHealth Medical Center to Marin County Jail with $15,000 bail. Our gardener was arraigned on felony charges. The following week, all charges were dismissed by the Marin County District Attorney's Office. Based on video from the officers' body-worn cameras, it appeared that the police report was not accurate.

In response to community anger and demonstrations at that time, San Rafael City Attorney Robert Epstein and Marin County District Attorney Lori Frugoli publicly expressed outrage and promised the community prompt, unbiased investigations. More than six months have passed. Our gardener suffered a fractured nose, a shoulder injury requiring surgery, a concussion and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as shame and humiliation within his community.

Recently, the members of the Memphis Police Department who beat Tyre Nichols before his death were immediately fired and charged with murder. That was the right response to a horrible situation. The delay in San Rafael leaves us wondering about Marin's system. What is wrong with the character and competence of the public officials in charge?

The suspected officers in

San Rafael remain on paid leave, while our gardener cannot work and languishes in physical and emotional pain. As taxpayers, we find it doubly insulting to pay these officers and to fund interminable investigations.

All that talk by officials about seeking to build trust with the community seems to be belied by their inaction. It's time to do something.

— Laurel and Jerry Spolter,

Sausalito