Police sex case shows why new law was needed

Any doubt about the need for California’s week-old police transparency law was laid to rest with the first release of records, which revealed a department’s findings that a cop had offered to help a suspect in exchange for sex.

Indeed, this news organization’s report about the Burlingame case provided new information that has prompted San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe to reopen a criminal investigation into the actions of former Officer David Granucci.

All of this was made possible by a new state law, effective Jan. 1, requiring police departments to turn over records involving an officer’s use of a firearm or Taser, sexual assault on a member of the public or dishonesty when reporting a crime or misconduct of another officer.

Until this year, California law shielded records about misbehavior from public scrutiny. When police departments fired officers, we were never told why, or even who.

Police have fought for years to protect that secrecy. And they’re still fighting. The state Supreme Court last week turned down their bid to stop release of records about misconduct before Jan. 1.

But a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge issued an injunction barring the LAPD from releasing similar records until a hearing is conducted next month concerning the law’s retroactivity.

It’s time for police to support transparency and law and order. It’s time for them to stop trying to cover up for bad cops.

The new state law, authored by Sen. Nancy Skinner, DBerkeley, applies to release of records of egregious misbehavior. Police who have a problem with that have lost track of their mission to protect the public.

The Granucci case demonstrates why this new law has been needed. In response to a records request filed New Year’s Day, Burlingame police revealed their findings that Granucci in March 2018 attempted to initiate a relationship with a DUI suspect.

According to the police department, Granucci obtained her personal phone number through official police channels, called her after she was released from a sobering center and went to her house, where he “attempted to initiate a sexual relationship with the arrestee, using his police authority, by offering to assist her with her DUI case.”

The woman refused and reported the incident to police. An internal investigation led to Granucci’s termination on June 29.

Granucci’s attorney, Lina Balciunas Cockrell, says the police account is false, that Granucci never offered to help a woman with her DUI case in exchange for sex. As the case was about to go to arbitration, Cockrell said, the city rescinded its termination, accepted Granucci’s voluntary resignation, and paid him a monetary settlement — the amount of which Cockrell did not disclose.

The lack of corroborating evidence in the case prevented criminal prosecution, according to Wagstaffe, the district attorney. What Wagstaffe didn’t know until Tuesday was that after Granucci’s termination Burlingame police determined that he had propositioned two other women while on duty.

In one case, police determined, he carried on a relationship with the woman for several months. In the other, Granucci led the woman to incorrectly believe she was being released from custody because he did her a favor, and he tried to use that as leverage to solicit a sexual relationship. The woman refused.

Wagstaffe said Burlingame police never told his office about the other two department findings. Police Chief Michael Matteucci owes the public an explanation of why that information wasn’t passed on to the district attorney. Wagstaffe said the additional cases might provide supporting evidence for criminal charges.

We suspect these police findings will turn out to be just the first of many. Using the authority of the new law, this news organization, KQED and Investigative Studios, an independent nonprofit affiliated with the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley, have filed public records requests with police departments across the state.

Good cops should have nothing to fear. Bad ones should be prepared for public disclosure of their actions. It’s about time.