3/23 Event in Campaign for Justice for Rudy Cardenas

Posted on Sun, Oct. 31, 2004

Tug of war in S.J. shooting reports

SAN JOSE'S INDEPENDENT POLICE AUDITOR HAS YET TO GET REPORTS

By Crystal Carreon

Mercury News

Since February, San Jose police have shot six people -- five fatally. But despite a pledge to turn over detailed reports on the shootings to the city's independent police auditor for review, the department has yet to provide the watchdog agency with a single document.

Without the reports, Independent Police Auditor Teresa Guerrero-Daley said, she and her staff cannot determine whether the department's internal affairs division conducted a thorough investigation to see if the officers involved violated department policies. The reports are also necessary to spot weaknesses with police training that may have contributed to the deaths, she said.

``There is an urgency. We do need to look at these cases,'' she said. ``It's been almost 10 months. I think we can do better.''

The agreement to produce the reports from the department's internal affairs division was made in March, less than a year after the shooting death of a Vietnamese woman. The officer involved in that case was cleared by a criminal grand jury -- as were the officers involved in four of the six police shootings this year.

`Soon as practical'

Police Chief Rob Davis, who took office in January, agreed to provide Guerrero-Daley's office with a copy of the department's reports ``as soon as practical'' after a decision was made on whether to file criminal charges against an officer.

It is standard practice after a shooting involving a police officer in Santa Clara County to have a criminal grand jury evaluate evidence, hear from witnesses and determine whether the shooting was justified or the officer should be charged with homicide or another crime.

Davis said his internal affairs investigators are still reviewing this year's shootings and are conducting their examination as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

``We're not interested in speeding up a process if we lose some effectiveness by doing so,'' he said. ``We want to make sure we do a thorough job, and make sure it's done right.''

He said the time it takes to complete an administrative review, looking at whether the officer acted within police policy or should be disciplined, varies with the circumstances of each case.

A survey of other police auditors in cities similar in size to San Jose found that they receive the investigatory documents no later than six months after the officer-involved shooting.

And Ronald D. Hunter, head of the criminal justice department at Western Carolina University and the former supervisor of the criminal investigations unit at the Tallahassee (Fla.) Police Department, said police shooting investigations usually wrap up three to six months after the incident, depending on the complexity or controversial nature of the case.

Once the district attorney exonerates an officer, the administrative review, he said, ``should be pretty swift.''

``If the DA is done with their review, it sounds to me like this is being dragged out,'' Hunter said of the experience in San Jose. ``I think it sounds like a turf issue.''

Davis said that is not the case. He said his department is just as interested as the independent police auditor in resolving these shootings.

``I personally have no problem in getting this done as quickly as we can,'' he said. ``I believe it's in everyone's best interest to clear these cases quickly.'''

Richard Konda, a member of the Coalition for Justice and Accountability, an activist group formed after police shot and killed Bich Cau Thi Tran last year, agreed that police and the independent police auditor need to agree on a reasonable period in which to share the reports, especially if information could prove vital in preventing future shootings.

Move quickly

``If they are really looking at the issues that come up around police shootings, then they should move with some due diligence,'' he said. ``If the same issues were to occur, and another person were to be shot, that would be tragic.''

In July, a closed criminal grand jury concluded its review of this year's first two deadly San Jose police shootings -- the Feb. 18 East Side shooting of Francisco Reyes and the March 6 downtown shooting of Alfred Farrar.

In August, jurors reviewed the non-fatal June shooting of Michael Zamora, and on Oct. 19 they concluded their review of the deadly June officer-involved shooting of John Ho in Willow Glen.

None of the officers was indicted on criminal charges, said Assistant District Attorney Karyn Sinunu.

Once the question of criminal charges is resolved, the police department's internal affairs unit examines the officer's role in the shooting to see whether he or she followed police policy before and after the trigger was pulled.

The internal affairs commander, Lt. David Cavallaro, declined to discuss the time it took his office to complete the administrative review of the two fatal police shootings last year, including the death of Tran. But on average, he said, it takes six to eight months after a shooting to complete the review.

Guerrero-Daley said she expects the internal affairs unit to be methodical in its investigation, but she is concerned that the delay could affect her ability to track down witnesses and seek outside experts should a training issue or other issue arise.

She plans to meet with Davis on Monday to clarify how quickly her office will receive the reports.

``I need there to be a priority to get that investigation out of IA so we can look at it,'' she said. ``We need to agree to some time lines, so there is an understanding that this can't drag on for months and months.''

In Tucson, the independent police auditor said she usually gets the police reports a month to six weeks after a criminal review is completed.

In San Diego, the citizens' review board on police practices receives police files after both the criminal and administrative probes are done -- usually three to six months after the incident. The board has already looked at two of San Diego's six officer-involved shootings this year, said Executive Director Scott Fulkerson.

As soon as available

In Sacramento, where police have fatally shot two people this year, the office of public safety accountability gets copies of all germane documents as soon as they become available.

Once Guerrero-Daley receives the police reports, her office will dissect the internal affairs probe to see whether police conducted a ``thorough, objective and fair'' investigation.

If she agrees with the department's finding, the chief will be notified. If she disagrees, she will contact the city attorney's office with the issues in the police investigation that she found troubling. She expects to complete her reviews within 60 days of receiving the documents.
Contact Crystal Carreon at ccarreon [at] mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5460.