Gascn said he first became aware of the situation in July, when he was given a briefing about the pending vandalism charges. Both the department and residents cite relatively low crime statistics as evidence of the departments success. Lacey cleared the officers of wrongdoing in all three deaths, but Gascn has reopened the investigation into Mitchells killing . Grand jury investigation spurs Torrance to, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Grand jury investigation spurs Torrance to change police-complaint forms, Hermosa Beach Police arrest 2 men suspected in shooting attempt, LAPD union wants to hand nonviolent calls over to to unarmed responders, Lunafest returns as a live event in Redondo Beach on March 5, Retired LA Kings star Dustin Brown honored in Hermosa Beach, grand jury report titled Policing the Police, Alpine Village, for decades a German American hub, faces unknown future, Real snow falls at Disneyland not the fake soapy stuff, Is there a problem with paying cash for a car? GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. . Although the current race-related lawsuits have shined a stark and unflattering light on the force, it is not the first time that Torrance police have come under legal scrutiny. Ask the lawyer, LA County reaches $28.85 million settlement with Kobe Bryants family, San Pedros Fish Market on fast track for long-term temporary West Harbor spot, Swap meet at historic Alpine Village, near Torrance, says goodbye, Tim McGraw and Blake Shelton will headline Coastal Country Jam in Long Beach, Southern California home sales fall to all-time low, Palos Verdes Historical Society museum plans in limbo after RPV denies location, Denver gang member gave 14-year-old permission to open fire on woman with AR-15 after fender-bender, DA alleges, In 4 years, Lori Lightfoot went from breakout political star to divisive mayor of a Chicago beset by pandemic and crime, Florida lawmakers to consider expansion of so-called dont say gay law, Drone crashes at Disneyland after hovering over visitors heads See video, Rapper Travis Scott wanted for assaulting Manhattan club sound engineer, destroying $12K in equipment, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Please enable JavaScript in your browser for a better user experience. maybe its something else. Sincerely,Alexander Cartwright and Jennifer Dirmeyer. We had to [expletive] her up because we knew he wouldnt, one officer wrote in one exchange about an altercation with a female suspect. PROOF OF SERVICE Executed by Plaintiff Robert Thomson, upon Defendant Torrance Police Department served on 8/2/2011, answer due 8/23/2011. Jeremy White and Eugene Pesikov sued Torrance and several individual police officers last year. Chief De Ladurantey said he receives as many citizen complaints from whites as minorities. Mitchell, who was Black, was suspected of driving a stolen vehicle when he pulled into a Ralphs parking lot in Torrance in December 2018, according to a district attorneys office memo clearing the officers of wrongdoing. In addition to Weldin, Tomsic and Chandler, The Times has reviewed district attorneys records detailing racist texts or images shared by six other police officers: Blake Williams, Brian Kawamoto, Joshua Satterfield, Omar Alonso, Christopher Allen-Young and Long Beach Police Officer Maxwell Schroeder, who is a former Torrance police recruit. Torrance Police Department
To assist us in achieving this goal, you, as a citizen, can help by letting us know if you have a complaint. Please fill out, sign and mail or submit at our station lobby. in communication and M.S. Simpson case, the downfall of Orange County Sheriff-turned felon Michael S. Carona and the use of unauthorized drugs by Olympian Carl Lewis. Medical examiners ruled Ross died of cardiac arrest resulting from methamphetamine use and his struggle with the officers, according to autopsy records. 1 3 are answered and 4 is No. The answer, according to the caption, was to break a tail light on his car so the police will stop him and shoot him., Someone else sent a picture of a candy cane, a Christmas tree ornament, a star for the top of the tree and an enslaved person.. Changes need to be made in the Torrance Police Department, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said this week in announcing an independent investigation into the text messages. The Times did not independently view documentation of racist text messages sent by any of those four officers, though the newspaper did review a document that showed Concannon sent messages that are part of the investigation. But theyve hit a snag, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre, A $150,000 executive protection dog? Any police department mirrors the community, said Wally Murker, head of the departments detective division. Truly favorable attitudes cannot prevail when a question of misuse of authority, either real or imagined, arises. Since 2013, the group of officers identified by The Times has been involved in at least seven serious use-of-force incidents in Torrance and Long Beach, including three that ended in the deaths of Black and Latino men, according to police use-of-force records and court filings. Schroeder used a carotid restraint hold sometimes referred to as a blood choke to subdue a homeless Black man in a park in November 2018, according to Long Beach police records The Times obtained through a public records request. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Torrance--as well as others against El Monte, Alhambra and Pomona--claiming that the police and fire departments discriminated against minorities during hiring. Torrance Police Department mission is to preserve public safety and quality of life within the City of Torrance, to respond effectively to the changing needs of the community, and to promote mutual respect between the Police Department and the people we serve. Improving the availability of complaint forms to the public by making them available in multiple locations with clear signage indicating where they specifically can be found. it. Torrance Police Department is notin compliancewith: This information has been curated by journalists andprivate citizens; and, this platform is available as-a-service to allPeace Officer Standards & Training [POST] Departments,Prosecutors, andLaw Enforcement Organizations [LEOrgs]. Without that officer, you couldnt prove that case.. If you have questions about this request or suggestions, we would be happy to discuss them with you. Daniels, who is black, moved to Torrance from Michigan this summer to pursue an acting career, and claims that he was pulled over seven times in three months yet never cited. This project requires us to request data from your department. Dont ask me where that lump on her forehead came from though.. MuckRock is a non-profit collaborative news site that gives you the tools to keep our government transparent and accountable. His stories have led to the closure of a chain of badly-run group homes, the end of a state program that placed criminals in inappropriate public jobs and the creation of a civilian oversight office for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, among other things. Katz, the former independent police auditor, described those statistics as concerningly low.. The car owner arrived two days later to pick up his Hyundai at the yard and found the back bumper was spray painted white, a side mirror also was painted and a swastika and smiley face were drawn on the upholstered seats. He declined to offer a timetable on that review and would not say whether the officers involvement in the text scandal would affect that probe. In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. Now every time I see you, Im going to arrest you, Daniels recalled. Dan Mason, Lohren Price and Nicholas Cramer had just celebrated their graduation from a pricey Studio City prep school by taking in a screening of Beverly Hills Cop III. On their way back to Inglewood, where two of the youths lived, they were stopped, ordered from the car at gunpoint, patted down and made to sit cross-legged on the sidewalk while two Torrance officers searched the car for nearly an hour. 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In the Mitchell case, that could be especially concerning. And he wrote De Ladurantey a letter after the incident. The accountability measures are very clearly laid out, and has benchmark measures that the police department will have to meet, he said, noting that the TPD will submit complaints dating back to 2020 to the state board. Prior to joining the Press-Telegram, she served as the Daily Breeze's lead city hall reporter. But the blow that many believed would force change in the department came in 1989. The grand jury found that Torrance was one of only two police departments among those it reviewed that warned complainants that filing a false claim against a police officer is a misdemeanor. The 2017-2018 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury observed in the course of its investigation that effective community relations and public trust can be earned through an open and accessible complaint process.. The inquiry is an expansion of a probe that began in 1993, when the government sued Torrance to stop what it described as racially biased hiring practices in the citys police and fire departments. Kristy Hutchings covers all things Long Beach including local government, politics, and the environment. The incident sparked significant protests including one inside Torrances City Council chambers that led demonstrators to file excessive-force lawsuits against several of the officers The Times identified in this article and remains under review by Gascn. For assistance please contact our Records Division at (310) 618-5529, or you may place a request, pursuant to CPRA, directly to the Torrance City Clerk located in City Hall, 3031 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503. You can also visit their webpage to make a Public Records Act Request online. (and) until the City Council and the city manager recognize that theres a problem, there wont be a solution.. And its not new., De Ladurantey flatly denies that his officers pull over motorists because of the color of their skin, but acknowledges that part of a police officers job is to sense deviation. The two officers responded to a report of mail theft in the South Bay city and directed a car linked to the crime to be towed from the scene, authorities said. The city also pointed towards Harts recently established Chiefs Advisory Board which aims to serve as a forum for discussion to foster understanding between the police department and the community as another means of oversight as the city awaits the investigation results and the official establishment of the state oversight board. TheCalifornia Public Records Actdoes not regulate the use of records obtained from public agencies. Beverly Hills attorney Howard Price, who represented many of the plaintiffs in the lawsuits, said Friday that the nature of the phone texts made it appear that racism was ingrained in the department. Torrance police officials acquired evidence of the text message threads during their investigation of Weldin and Tomsic, according to Ponegalek, though he declined to give a specific timeline of when they obtained the data. On July 2, the Torrance City Attorneys Office filed a criminal complaint charging Lena Hernandez, with battery, a violation of California Penal Code Section 242. After one officer shared a news article about someone being arrested for urinating on a Black child and calling them the N-word, Satterfield replied, whats the crime? according to district attorneys records reviewed by The Times. Rob Bonta announces an investigation into the Torrance Police Department after a Times report on racist texts between officers. 3300 Civic Center Drive, Torrance, CA 90503. The council also referenced Senate Bill 2 which will allow the state to decertify police officers who commit serious misconduct, and will establish a statewide oversight board as a reason not to pursue a locally-controlled oversight body. It was one of several changes to the police complaint process municipal officials said were made after receiving recommendations from the grand jury. The following services are available at the public counter without an appointment: Additional services available only by appointment, or mail-in / drop-off options: 3031 Torrance Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503 | P: (310) 328-5310 | Contact | Login. district attorneys office memo that determined the fatal shooting was justified. We have a group of officers who, apparently in addition to harboring very biased and racist beliefs, also may be engaging in inappropriate force that could be illegal in some cases, he said. Several of the officers have also been named as defendants in lawsuits alleging excessive force, false arrest and wrongful death, court filings show. charged Officer David Chandler with assault in late August for allegedly shooting an armed man in the back, Torrance police officer linked to racist text message scandal is charged in 2018 shooting, similar scandals involving racist text messages among San Francisco officers, More racist text messages uncovered among San Francisco police officers. In December of 2011, a Superior Court judge ruled that the California Assembly must also disclose budget records of individual lawmakers, after some California newspapers filed a lawsuit accusing legislators of flouting the states open records laws. Its a deep-seated cultural problem, Price said. A goal of the Torrance Police Department is to ensure that the public is served in a most efficient and effective manner by highly trained police officers, bearing in mind that the police officer of today works in an extremely complex society. An attorney for the union said the officers were barred from commenting on the investigation. But theyve hit a snag, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre, A $150,000 executive protection dog? Some include all discharges and some exclude missed shots. Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert did not respond to repeated calls and e-mails seeking information about the criminal case against the homeless man. A Long Beach officer who was a Torrance recruit has been suspended without pay. Ive been pissed at Weldin since then, according to the affidavit. Before they start complaining too loudly about how much it would cost to run this commission, Armour said, they need to consider what it costs to not have a commission making their policies better and making them less subject to litigation.. In a four-page letter written earlier this month to Superior Court Presiding Judge Daniel J. Buckley, City Manager LeRoy Jackson said the city had complied with the grand jurys recommendation and removed such warnings from its complaint forms and related materials.. Any documentation or reports that detail the annual number of officer-involved shootings in your department for the past 10 years would be sufficient. What is the total number of citizen complaints (allegations of misconduct) made against your departments officers annually for the last 10 years? Share & Bookmark, Press Enter to show all options, press Tab go to next option, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), Consolidated Plan: HOME, HOME-American Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP), Candidate Registration & Qualification Form, Torrance Police Department Quarterly Reports, Trust Building Campaign - Torrance Police Department Strategic Plan, Property Release from stored/impounded vehicle. Web47 6 thatphanom.techno@gmail.com 042-532028 , 042-532027 Through interviews with sources with direct knowledge of the investigation, public records requests and a review of district attorneys office records, The Times examined some of the contents of the until-now secret texts and identified a dozen Torrance police officers under investigation for exchanging them. Torrance removed two warnings on its police complaint form that threatened the complainant with legal action for making a false report after a county grand jury investigation concluded they were intimidating. Community Lead Officer: 310-618-6389. . A key purpose for receiving and investigating complaints is to identify law enforcement personnel that frequently or habitually engage in inappropriate behavior, the report said. Mark KickbuschPolice Operations SupervisorRecords DivisionTorrance Police Department3300 Civic Centre DriveTorrance, CA, 90503E: mkickbusch@TorranceCA.gov
P: 310-618-6347F: 310-618-2355. Out of hundreds of pages of documents, the judge allowed the Rastello familys attorneys to present 14 cases of alleged misconduct that resulted in little or no punishment, including an off-duty officer who fired 22 shots at a car, many of them out the window of his personal vehicle; a lieutenant who allegedly molested several children; evidence of rapes and beatings by officers, and officers driving drunk while on duty. The purpose of that board, according to the bill text, is to make recommendations regarding police officer decertification and to protect the public and all constitutional and statutory rights.. The picture above it showed several Black men who had been lynched. At certain levels noises are Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, New: California Attorney General to investigate Torrance Police after racist text scandal, Ex-Torrance police officers charged with spray-painting swastika on car, How the theft of 44 firearms from an L.A. gun store exploded into an LAPD scandal. In the mid-1990s, Torrance was hit by a spate of civil rights lawsuits and complaints, including one that contended a Black employee found a hangmans noose dangling above his desk. Civil rights activists and police watchdog groups claim that the department is among the most Pursuant to the California Public Records Act (California Government Code 6250), I hereby request the following records: We are Economics Professors in the College of Business at Ferris State University, and are engaged in an empirical research project on police behavior and citizen complaints. The City Council only considered surveying the community about an oversight commission on March 15 to fulfill the terms of a lawsuit settlement. . Torrance, however, has spent more than $1 million so far to defend its hiring practices, with City Atty. Detectives: 310-618-5570. Another picture he sent referred to an African American baby as a Pet Niguana, according to the records, and he also sent a message mocking the fact that he was the subject of a racial profiling complaint. One said that Torrance officers had shot Hispanic teen-agers before just for wearing big (street gang uniform) pants, Jose Esparza said. Additionally, they say, investigators allegedly reviewed confidential attorney-client messages on the phones as well as the officers medical information. What they found has resulted in a black eye for the Torrance Police Department. Process municipal officials said were made after receiving recommendations from the grand jury officers annually for the union said officers! 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