Torrance, CA 90503-5056. If you would like to file a formal complaint for an officer that is not yet listed, please contact us and we will add that individual immediately. The most controversial incident involving officers linked to the racist text scandal is the 2018 shooting death of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell. Public records in theCalifornia Public Records Actare defined as any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the publics business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics. There is a separate category of purely personal information that, although it may be in the custody of a government agency, does not fall under the act. Torrance quietly allocated $700,000 at the last two City Council meetings for legal fees associated with two lawsuits involving the Police Department, including a Torrance police department complaints; left stove on low all night; beretta 84 10 round magazine; myinstants download mp3; best liposuction doctors in florida; 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. And he wrote De Ladurantey a letter after the incident. WebTorrance Police Department Internal Affairs. . The sum was upped to $9 million by a judge and the case finally was settled for $6.5 million. 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. Torrance will not survey residents to determine the communitys support for an independent oversight commission to monitor the police department effectively shutting down activists and residents years-long calls for more robust accountability of law enforcement in the city. District attorneys records reviewed by The Times showed Tomsic sent a slew of racist images and messages, including a picture of former President Reagan feeding a monkey with a caption stating Reagan used to babysit [former President] Obama.. 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. 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. The database is always in development and more organizations, POST Departments, and officers are being added daily. Other departments include intentional and accidental shootings; others do not. In 1988, two Torrance police officers were caught on video choking and clubbing Thomas Tice, 20, at a Sunday afternoon party. The Police Departments recent racist text-messagingscandal in which the officers responsible for Mitchells death participated has onlyfurtheredcalls for more robust police accountability. But theyve hit a snag, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre, A $150,000 executive protection dog? Which of the above data are published publicly? Gascn has hired a special prosecutor to review for possible criminal charges. You would want to consult them, figure out what their values and viewpoints are, then legislate and implement their values not yours.. 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. Please enable JavaScript in your browser for a better user experience. A Torrance police officer has been charged with assault for his role in a 2018 shooting. Gascn praised Torrance Police Chief Jeremiah Hart for moving quickly to provide information to prosecutors, noting he met resistance from police leaders when investigating similar scandals involving racist text messages among San Francisco officers. You dont hang the star, someone wrote back. A Long Beach officer who was a Torrance recruit has been suspended without pay. The grand jury also said that the Torrance warning regarding the civil suit that could be filed if a false report is submitted was found to be unconstitutional in 1999 because of its chilling effect and the court ruling has been upheld on several occasions since then. WebThe Torrance Police Department (California) Brady List is the definitive public-facing database of information about: police misconduct, public complaints, decertification, do The Records Division public counter is located in the main lobby of the Police Department. What is the total number of citizen complaints (allegations of misconduct) made against your departments officers annually for the last 10 years? Two years later, the city agreed to pay $1.9 million to a construction worker shot in the neck by an officer during a 1988 traffic stop, and $1.1 million to a Carson man who claimed that officers broke his neck with a billy club. . And several jurors laid blame for an above-the-law attitude on then-Chief Donald E. Nash, who resigned a year and a half later, six months before his planned retirement. Katz said the text messages call into question the credibility of the officers accounts of any past use-of-force incidents involving Black or Latino suspects. in communication and M.S. Dunn also received a text message from Weldin apologizing for the damage, the affidavit said. 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. Jackie Lacey, but the case is one of several that Gascn has hired a special prosecutor to review for possible criminal charges. Robert Cramer, an assistant city attorney with the city of Los Angeles and the father of Nicholas Cramer, a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits, said the three boys involved were not chipping away at anything the night of May 26--they were returning home from a movie. Daniels said he was taken into custody, placed in a cell for two hours and cited for driving without a California license and released. Review comes amidst allegations of excessive force, racist text messages, and other discriminatory misconduct. We had to [expletive] her up because we knew he wouldnt, one officer wrote in one exchange about an altercation with a female suspect. Ex-Torrance police officers move to suppress, 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), Ex-Torrance police officers move to suppress use of offensive texts, Hermosa Beach Police arrest 2 men suspected in shooting attempt, LA County serial rapist sentenced to 310 years in prison, Man wrongly imprisoned for decades declared innocent in killing of woman in Inglewood, Gov. According to their lawsuit, the students were driving through Torrance in a 1979 Chevrolet strewn with history and calculus texts. Want the latest investigative and FOIA news? Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov. The first spate of costly lawsuits began in the late 1980s. Chief De Ladurantey said he receives as many citizen complaints from whites as minorities. 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. 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. Even if the results of investigations are inconclusive, tracking complaints can provide an early warning system to identify and take corrective actions to improve employee conduct.. in which police officers believe a white boy traveling with two blacks is unusual, or an indication of potential crime., Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, 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? This project requires us to request data from your department. Please find attached the information requested in your email. . Many of the officers under investigation as part of the scandal also have use-of-force histories involving the communities for which they expressed hatred. One year later, Tomsic was one of several officers involved in a deadly altercation with Deautry Ross in the Del Amo Fashion Center, according to district attorneys records. 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 fate of two former Torrance police officers may rest Monday with a Superior Court judge who has been asked to throw out evidence that the officers shared 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? In some of those cases, the plaintiffs are members of the same ethnic groups the officers espoused hatred for in the texts. Torrance, however, has spent more than $1 million so far to defend its hiring practices, with City Atty. If you wish to file a formal Usually, conversations always seemed to circle back to vile insults or depictions of violence against Black people. But theyve hit a snag, Review: A reimagined Secret Garden fails to flower anew at the Ahmanson Theatre, A $150,000 executive protection dog? U.S. Department of Justice lawyers conducted a two-year investigation in the early 1990s into department racism that culminated in a 1993 lawsuit alleging job discrimination in the citys police and fire departments. The officer has also been implicated in a racist text message scandal involving a dozen other officers. 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. He said, You little ----, you went to my watch commander and made a complaint against me. Gen. in journalism from the University of Southern California. 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. Every time I turn around, somebody has a complaint against them, said Royce Esters, president of the Compton National Assn. If your department logs complaints in a database, spreadsheet, or other log, a copy of those logs is fine instead. Every investigation, therefore, is undertaken with the dual objective of opening channels of communications between the department and the community, and maintaining an on-going review of Department Services and Policies. California Atty. 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. Chavez and Concannon were cleared of wrongdoing by former Dist. First, three officers were suspended, and now face firing, for allegedly socializing--in uniform and on duty--with strippers at a private Torrance residence. Johao Miguel Chavarri, 26, threatened the victims through social media platforms if they refused his request for explicit photos or videos. Another photo asked what someone should do if their girlfriend was having an affair with a Black 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. That number did not include Tomsic, Weldin, or Schroeder, he said. Ive been pissed at Weldin since then, according to the affidavit. they have one of the worst reputations, Lynn said. 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. . The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. SB 2 is very expansive, Hart said, noting that the American Civil Liberties Union of California recently announced its support for the bills expanded approach to police accountability. Certainly, 1994 brought more unwanted attention to the department. In the course of my work I regularly defend police officers and police policy, Cramer wrote. What those text messages revealed was an extraordinarily hostile attitude toward people of color, people who are nonbinary, people who have different sexual orientations, said Walter Katz, a former independent police auditor in California who now serves as a vice president of criminal justice for research firm Arnold Ventures. Attorneys for Weldin and Tomsic did not return messages seeking comment. Torrance recorded fewer violent crimes in 1993 than many neighboring cities of comparable size, according to the FBI. Thanks so much for your help with this request! At certain levels noises are Investigators had Dunn phone Weldin while they listened in on the call. Non-Emergency Police Response: (310) 618-5641 3300 Civic Center Drive, Torrance CA 90503 Animal Control: 310-618-3850 Community Affairs : 310-618-6392 In Torrance, the Police and Fire Departments costs make up 65% of the citys general fund budget. If you submit your complaint on paper, we recommend that you staple a copy of Schroeder initiated contact with the man because he was sleeping in a park after it closed, the records show, and used the choke to take him down after an altercation. 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 findings were outlined in a grand jury report titled Policing the Police that investigated how the public could make complaints against police officers in a dozen county cities, including Inglewood and Culver City in addition to Torrance. To assist us in achieving this goal, you, as a citizen, can help by letting us know if you have a complaint. In total, the officers were listed as potential witnesses in nearly 1,400 cases in the last decade, according to district attorneys records The Times obtained through a public records request. Council nixes proposed resident survey on, 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), Council nixes proposed resident survey on civilian oversight of Torrance Police, 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, Ex-Torrance police officers move to suppress use of offensive texts, Torrance officials, police critics differ on new advisory commissions ability to effect change, Police say patrols wont be affected by 13 officers on leave in Torrance, 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? It was one of several changes to the police complaint process municipal officials said were made after receiving recommendations from the grand jury. Former Daily Breeze reporter and columnist Nick Green retired in 2021 after more than two decades with the newspaper covering Torrance, Lomita, Carson, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, soccer and the craft beer industry. The warrant was obtained in March that year with an affidavit that lays out the genesis of the text debacle that has made national headlines. 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. Torrance is no stranger to allegations of racist conduct by its police officers. The text messages were not on one continuous thread, according to two of the sources. Our members have a right to due process and should be protected from illegal and unnecessary intrusion into their private lives.. 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. Census figures at the same time said 1.7% of Torrance residents were black, 10% were Latino and 22% were Asian. They say, in their complaint, that during a protest in the city council chambers against the Torrances handling of Mitchells death, police officers used excessive force against them, resulting in numerous injuries including, the complaint says, a fractured vertebrae for White and a partially amputated finger for Pesikov. 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. Alexander Cartwright and Jennifer Dirmeyer, Subject: RE: California Public Records Act Request: Torrance, CA PD Citizen Complaints. Some include all discharges and some exclude missed shots. 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. Without that officer, you couldnt prove that case.. Please feel free to try again. Please enable JavaScript in your browser for a better user experience. Lacey cleared the officers of wrongdoing in all three deaths, but Gascn has reopened the investigation into Mitchells killing . Rich L.A. homeowners are snapping them up, Left-handed pitchers offer gold-like value for high school teams, Column: How I finally learned to care about Orange Countys crumbling coastline, Shipping firms to pay pipeline company nearly $100 million in O.C. Atty. 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