Mesa to discipline police officers
Action follows review of excessive-force cases
Multiple police officers will face “varying degrees of discipline” in two excessive-force incidents after a review by former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, according to Mesa’s police chief.
In a two-page letter released Friday, Chief Ramon Batista said he agrees with the disciplinary recommendations. State law prohibits him from providing details of the punishments until all the potential appeals have run their course, he said.
He did say the officers will not be terminated.
Batista asked Romley to participate in the internal affairs investigation after two excessive force incidents in May were caught on video, spurring community outrage.
One of the videos shows up to five officers kneed or punched 35-year-old Robert Johnson, who was unarmed, when he didn’t immediately follow orders to sit down.
Another video showed two officers appeared to rough up Gabriel Ramirez, a 15-year-old armed robbery suspect, after he was handcuffed.
During the investigation, seven Mesa officers were placed on administrative leave in connection with the two incidents. They have been moved to administrative duties pending the outcome of the investigation, according to a department spokesman.
Romley told The Arizona Republic he completed his part of the investigation in November after conducting multiple
interviews, reviewing thousands of pages of documents and hours of body-camera footage. He also enlisted the help of the head of use-of-force issues at the Los Angeles Police Department.
Romley highlighted several concerns with past record-keeping policies and training. He applauded Batista’s commitment to addressing the issues head-on.
“In my mind, the chief is making heroic efforts to improve the department and has been so willing to make changes for the betterment of the department and the citizens of Mesa,” Romley said.
In August, the FBI told Mesa police it would conduct civil-rights investigations into the cases.
Benjamin Taylor, Robert Johnson’s lawyer, said officers will continue to use excessive force unless they are fired or prosecuted. Taylor has filed a $1.97 million notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, against the city of Mesa.
“Based on the video you can see that there was extreme police brutality and these officers should have been disciplined and at the most fired,” he said on Friday. “Until there’s accountability and punishment under the law for police officers who do wrong, by either prosecution or firing, they will continue to harm and frighten innocent citizens.”
He added, “Hopefully the FBI investigation finds a different conclusion on this matter and cleans up the negative culture within the Mesa police department that has been going on for years.”
Batista also highlighted recent changes to the department’s hiring program focused on promoting workforce diversity and improving both recruiting and retention.
“We are committed to continuing our pursuit for the highest standards and promoting our mission of partnering with our community to prevent and reduce crime and to ensure procedural justice by building trust, showing respect, and preserving human rights,” Batista wrote.
He said the department already has made significant changes to its training, including emphasizing critical decision making, de-escalation tactics and using non-lethal force options.
He revised the department’s use-of-force policy to prevent officers from striking people’s faces or heads unless a suspect was being combative.
The Police Department also has changed how it opens an internal investigation for an excessive-force allegation.
Batista said that anyone, including people internally or externally, who wants to report a potential policebrutality case can do so online, over the phone, in person or through a notice of claim.
In June, Batista called for different levels of investigations into the two excessive-force cases, including a criminal and administrative process.
Scottsdale police investigated the cases and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office ultimately decided not to file any charges against the officers involved.
Mesa police spokesman Detective Nik Rasheta said the FBI is still reviewing the cases.
The 2016 shooting of Daniel Shaver by former Officer Philip Brailsford is also being reviewed by the Department of Justice. Brailsford fatally shot a man who was on his knees crying, begging for his life. After he was acquitted by a jury of a second-degree murder charge, a judge allowed the release of unedited footage showing the incident.
An analysis by The Republic found it is rare for Mesa officers to face any discipline in excessive-force investigations. Mesa’s police department completed at least 158 investigations into whether officers used excessive force from 2014 through November 2018. Three of the cases — approximately 2 percent — found the officer was in the wrong.
On May 23, Johnson was beaten nearly unconscious by at least four Mesa police officers who responded to a call of a domestic dispute. Johnson was with another man, whose girlfriend had called the police on him.
Police on-body camera and surveillance footage show officers punch and knee Johnson to the ground. Police said Johnson didn’t immediately obey officers’ orders to sit down and feared that he was going to hurt them. The body cameras also show officers tied Johnson’s feet, handcuffed him and carried him into a patrol car.
Batista’s letter didn’t mention the officers by name, but police previously have confirmed the officers involved were Jhonte Jones, who has been with the department since 2006; Rudy Monarrez, with the department since 2017; Ernesto Calderon, since 1996; Robert Gambee, since 2012; and William Abbiatti.
Abbiatti’s length of service with the department was not available.
Johnson was charged with disorderly conduct and hindering police. The charges later were dropped.