2 officers on leave after texts leak
Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson says he is “deeply saddened and disturbed” about a recent Sacramento Bee article on obscene text messages exchanged by Eureka Police Department officers, and while an investigation is ongoing, two officers have been put on leave.
“This leave is effective immediately and any change of status will be evaluated pending deeper review of this critical matter,” Watson said in a statement. “At my direction, this investigation will be conducted by an independent, outside investigator.”
The Sacramento Bee reported today on how the group chat for six Eureka Police Department officers from a single squad contained scores of “violent, sexually explicit and demeaning messages” about women, people experiencing homelessness, suspects of crime, protesters and Humboldt County Public Health, among others. Watson said he was unaware of the messages before being contacted by the Bee reporter, but that the comments were not reflective of the professional standards of the department.
“Over the past four years, we prioritized providing our officers training on implicit bias, procedural justice, racial and cul
tural diversity, de-escalation techniques, and crisis intervention team training,” Watson said. “We have also emphasized outreach and services over enforcement to those experiencing homelessness.”
The text exchanges are not a reflection of the training and positive changes that the department has been working toward, he said.
“While we leave room for the investigation to reveal more information, we also fully denounce the content of the communications that have been reported,” Watson said. “And, we respectfully ask you to join us in doing the same.”
Most of the text exchanges, which were provided by an anonymous source, were between Sgt. Rodrigo ReynaSanchez, the group’s supervisor, and another officer named Mark Meftah, according to the article.
In one exchange on April 4, officers were asked to go check on a resident who might have contracted COVID-19, who Reyna Sanchez would later refer to as an “outbreak monkey,” to which Meftah responded he would “knock as lightly as human possible” and leave if the door wasn’t answered in an eight of a second.
Reyna-Sanchez responded, “The public health dr suggested we go there, knock loud and step back when he came to the door!!! Nice plan (expletive)!!! I’ll be right behind u!!!”
The officers exchanged messages about violently subduing local protesters, stating “I’ll beat those (expletive) hippies down;” made salacious and offensive comments about women’s breasts, such as referring to those of one woman as “saggy ol udders;” and made comments about watching homeless people have sex.
The Bee points out how the text exchanges occurred after a Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury issued a report condemning the way homelessness is handled in the city. The city’s response to the report was that law enforcement wasn’t “targeting” anyone. The response stated the city was simply holding lawbreaking homeless individuals accountable for “their unacceptable and destructive behavior” while providing outreach and other services.
Reyna-Sanchez also commented about a man who died as the result of an officer-involved shooting, stating the man was “at st joes with several extra holes in him!!”
The article states ReynaSanchez had a history of violent behavior in addition to his violent statements, citing an incident 10 years ago when he shot a 25-yearold man in the head.
“Officers were struggling with David Sequoia in a carport, and the man reportedly pointed a gun within inches of an officer’s face,” the article states. “That officer shot Sequoia in the chest.”
It continues: “Seconds later, Reyna-Sanchez shot the man in the head because, investigators said, Sequoia was still pointing the gun at officers. Sequoia died, and the shooting was deemed justified.”
He more recently suggested shooting a suspect in the face after discovering the man had been arrested with “body armor that had belonged to” Reyna-Sanchez.