Dunn also received a text message from Weldin apologizing for the damage, the affidavit said. Compton, with a population of just 96,000, recorded 62 killings during the same period. If your department logs complaints in a database, spreadsheet, or other log, a copy of those logs is fine instead. The idea that there is no need for a local commission because theres a state process is patently inadequate, because were talking about a nine-member panel that will only be able to deal with the most egregious, flagrant cases that break through, Armour said. 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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. What is the total number of complaints police officers made against their peer officers (sometimes called internal complaints) in department annually for the last 10 years? Investigators had Dunn phone Weldin while they listened in on the call. The City Council, in a 6-1 vote on March 15, voted against the proposed city survey, arguing that existing oversight measures will be enough to eradicate any misconduct systemic or otherwise in the police department. Jackie Lacey, but the case is one of several that Gascn has hired a special prosecutor to review for possible criminal charges. Emergency Services: 310-618 I actually made some comments about how, generally, when someone does this kind of stuff, there are bigger patterns of behavior. Torrance Police Department 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. Saavedra has worked as a journalist since 1979 and has held positions at several Southern California newspapers before arriving at the Orange County Register in 1990. 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 city indicated the forms previously only available at the Police Department can now be found in the City Clerks Office and City Hall lobby as well. About 13 Torrance officers are on paid leave as the city and the state attorney general investigate the offensive texts, which include jokes about lynchings, gassing Jews and shooting Black men. 3300 Civic Center Dr. like this one. Rob Bonta said Wednesday his office will investigate the department in the wake of the scandal. Please feel free to try again. The Times identified 13 officers in its investigation, including Tomsic, Weldin and Schroeder, meaning there are an additional five Torrance officers under investigation whose identities remain unknown to the public. We catch em (criminals), and the community likes that.. Then, twice in three months, came federal civil rights lawsuits by citizens claiming that they were wrongfully stopped. Within weeks, Torrance police provided the district attorneys office with more than 200 gigabytes of data, which showed the officers had been exchanging racist messages since at least 2018, according to Teran, the advisor to the district attorney. 3300 Civic Center Drive, Torrance, CA 90503. WebServices include abandoned vehicle reporting/removal, adult fingerprinting, adult sexual assault prevention, business security evaluations, crime prevention, crime victim support, WebNon-Emergency Police Response: (310) 618-5641 3300 Civic Center Drive, Torrance CA 90503 . A report to the city council estimated the potential cost being anywhere from $233,000 to $711,000. Torrance, however, has spent more than $1 million so far to defend its hiring practices, with City Atty. The database is always in development and more organizations, POST Departments, and officers are being added daily. Tomsic filled out a California Highway Patrol form attesting that the vehicle had not been vandalized, and had it towed by driver Chris Dunn to the impound yard at Van Lingen Towing. 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.. Sometimes youve got to do things your own damn self, Kawamoto replied, later adding a comment that he wanted to always make Torrance great again, a reference to former President Trumps ubiquitous political slogan. While no officers currently face criminal charges in direct relation to the text messages, the racist exchanges have led to the dismissal of at least 85 criminal cases involving the officers implicated in the scandal. And he wrote De Ladurantey a letter after the incident. Some critics say the citys most recent vote against a survey is a show of the councils unwillingness to address the concerns of the Torrance community. 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. Community Lead Officer: 310-618-6389. Its unclear what the results of that investigation will require the TPD to do, or how those changes may be enforced once the investigation is complete. Black Lives Matter activists have attended nearly every City Council meeting since the fatal police shooting of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell in 2018 to demand Torrance establish an oversight commission. Ponegalek argued that The Times analysis was incomplete, as it did not include statistics involving complaints filed by other officers. Some City Council members said they went outside the department for a chief because of unhappiness at the number of suits against the city. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not. 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. Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Best coffee city in the world? Anyone can request public documents in California, and a purpose does not have to be stated. .Search for Guntersville, Marshall County, AL police and arrest records. Mark KickbuschPolice Operations SupervisorRecords DivisionTorrance Police Department3300 Civic Centre DriveTorrance, CA, 90503E: mkickbusch@TorranceCA.govP: 310-618-6347F: 310-618-2355. So we totally racially profiled his ass, haha Shopping at 7/11 while Black, he didnt know the rules lol, Tomsic wrote, according to the records. Certainly, 1994 brought more unwanted attention to the department. It is really a surprising abdication of their responsibility as elected officials to respond to their constituents and to express the will of their constituents, said Jody David Armour, a lawyer and professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law in an interview Friday. Daniels said the officer approached him three days later at a local mall. The Torrance Police Department has made vigorous efforts to achieve this status, and it is our desire to provide the means whereby it might be sustained. 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.. Part of our responsibilities includes interpreting federal and state laws, as well as departmental policy in determining the release and retrieval of confidential criminal information. When the motorists asked why they were stopped, they claimed that officers would reply, We do a routine check on new faces in town.. The results of that investigation, though, likely wont be made public for another two years or so although Hart said he is working on a new collaborative reform model never before done in the state of California, which would allow quarterly or biannual updates on the status of the investigation. A knife was recovered at the scene. for having expired tags, for having a taillight out. Simple traffic stops often result in crimes being solved and wanted criminals apprehended, he added. Our members have a right to due process and should be protected from illegal and unnecessary intrusion into their private lives.. It is not unusual for minorities to complain that police harass them with pointless stops in an attempt to discourage them from driving through certain white neighborhoods. Concannon, Chavez and fellow Torrance Police Officers Andrew Kissinger and Enrique Villegas are also under investigation as part of the scandal, according to three people with direct knowledge of the case and a review of district attorneys records. Johao Miguel Chavarri, 26, threatened the victims through social media platforms if they refused his request for explicit photos or videos. . 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. We dont have the money to do it at the level they (California) do, Ashcraft said. Another officer then sat on Ross legs before others were able to bind Ross arms and legs with a hobble restraint.. Rollo Green--who, according to testimony, had a history of alcohol abuse--caused the death of Kelly Rastello, 19, of Long Beach, by making an illegal left-hand turn in front of the motorcyclist, jurors said. An attorney for the union said the officers were barred from commenting on the investigation. Tice and five other party-goers settled a lawsuit against the city for $105,000. Before they start complaining too loudly about how much it Torrance did indicate it would comply with most recommendations made by the grand jury though, including: Five of the police departments surveyed Torrance was not one of them did not use complaints to identify potential problems, which the grand jury concluded was the entire point of an effective complaint system. Please include the type of complaint (i.e., use of Two former Torrance police officers were charged with spray-painting a swastika inside of a residents car, and prosecutors are now reviewing hundreds of cases involving the ex-cops, officials said. For assistance Daniels claims that one officer made racial threats during such a stop, and Daniels made a formal complaint against him. In the Mitchell case, that could be especially concerning. In Torrance, the Police and Fire Departments costs make up 65% of the citys general fund budget. 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. Mark Ponegalek, a Torrance police spokesman, could not confirm or deny the identities of the officers involved, but said 15 have been placed on administrative leave in relation to the scandal. According to an investigation by The Times, the theft of 44 guns from an L.A. gun store has spurred a cascade of allegations against LAPD officers and a roiling department scandal. If your department logs complaints in a database, spreadsheet, or other log, a copy of those logs is fine instead. 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. The picture above it showed several Black men who had been lynched. 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. Animal Control: 310-618-3850. In another message reviewed by The Times, Alonso complained about the idea of having to work with a gay officer, and said hed straight punch a member of the LGBTQ community, using a common slur for gay men. This project requires us to request data from your department. Long Beach police officials determined the use of force was justified, the records show. The governments current inquiry into allegations of racial harassment of the public is simply an effort to bolster its discriminatory hiring case against Torrance, one Justice Department official said. In both cases, plaintiffs alleged that the officers leveled guns at their heads, tore apart their vehicles with no probable cause and without permission, intentionally and painfully yanked their testicles during body searches and made numerous racist threats. in journalism from the University of Southern California. From 2016 to 2019, Torrance police upheld just three citizen allegations of police misconduct and zero allegations of racial profiling made against officers, according to data submitted to the California attorney generals office. The California Attorney Generals ongoing investigation into 13 officers who have been placed on leave for their participating in the exchange of racist text messages that joked about lynching Black men, among other things will provide a check to see where we can optimize performance and increase accountability, Police Chief Jeremiah Hart said during Tuesdays meeting. If you have questions about this request or suggestions, we would be happy to discuss them with you. Torrance recorded fewer violent crimes in 1993 than many neighboring cities of comparable size, according to the FBI. The grand jury also said that only three police departments in the county have any sort of civilian oversight. I am writing to follow up on my original request made on 8/25/17. 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. The Records Division is a service support unit within the Services Bureau. According to the district attorneys records reviewed by The Times, Schroeder sent one message in the texts reading No Jews, No Blacks, and made racist remarks about a child eating a watermelon. The text messages might have remained hidden if not for the alleged bizarre actions of Tomsic and Weldin in January 2020. A survey of records at Police Watch, a nonprofit Los Angeles group that monitors Southern California police agencies, revealed numerous complaints by minorities alleging that they were pulled over by Torrance police for no reason. The homeless man was booked on suspicion of resisting arrest, being in the park after dark and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to a Long Beach police spokesman. 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