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? Please include the type of complaint (i.e., use of force, abuse language, unwarranted search) and the result of complaint (i.e., sustained, exonerated). 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. Sgt. In Torrances 2021 Strategic Plan a report that gathers data from city departments, local businesses and residents via randomized surveys and focus groups to determine what issues to prioritize found that creating an independent oversight commission was listed as a key concern for residents. Hutchings holds a B.A. Three years into De Laduranteys tenure, though, critics question whether much has changed. 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. But the severity of the misconduct amongst TPD officers, Armour says, speaks to a festering problem in the culture of the department, despite the citys countless admonitions that those officers do not represent the city, the police department, or its values. Emergency Services: 310-618 Other departments include intentional and accidental shootings; others do not. Prior to joining the Press-Telegram, she served as the Daily Breeze's lead city hall reporter. maybe its something else. The officer has also been implicated in a racist text message scandal involving a dozen other officers. 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 County prosecutors had tossed 35 felony cases as of mid-November, and the Torrance city attorneys office has dismissed an additional 50, officials said. Collecting this information is very important to our research, so we would like to emphasize, if you have questions about my request or suggestions, we would be happy to discuss them with you. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. Torrance also reported fewer rapes, robberies and other violent crimes. How many officer-involved-shootings were there per year for the last 10 years in your department? Sgt. 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. Although the Rastello case shocked much of Southern California, equally startling was a string of other cases--long kept in private police files and brought up at the trial--that offered a rare peek into disciplinary procedures at the department. The Police Departments recent racist text-messagingscandal in which the officers responsible for Mitchells death participated has onlyfurtheredcalls for more robust police accountability. Daniels said the officer approached him three days later at a local mall. Critics of the department have a different term for the line of demarcation: the Great White Wall, they call it, a racial boundary that they believe is patrolled with apartheid vengeance by the overwhelmingly white Torrance Police Department. 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. The impound yard agreed to pay the owner $2,750 for the damage, although there was no evidence the business was at fault, said the affidavit. Please include the type of complaint (i.e., use of The Records Division public counter is located in the main lobby of the Police Department. like this one. 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. All the while, the city contended officers were innocent and that all the allegations were fabricated, including one that officers had squeezed the testicles of three teenage Latino detainees. Some individuals may be reluctant to file a complaint for fear of reprisal from the officer or officers they are complaining against or the police department itself, the grand jury report added. 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. Statute 6255 states a catch all exemption, The agency shall justify withholding any record by demonstrating that the record in question is exempt under express provisions of this chapter or that on the facts of the particular case the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record.. If your department logs complaints in a database, spreadsheet, or other log, a copy of those logs is fine instead. 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. Please explain to us how your department classifies the OIS included in the numbers you sent to us. Investigators concluded that they would probably find evidence on the officers cellphones that a felony hate crime had been committed. The grand jury also said that only three police departments in the county have any sort of civilian oversight. NIT stands for Nigger in Torrance, they said; NITAD stands for a black person spotted in Torrance after dark.. 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. Good job sticking to the script, he wrote. An attorney for the union said the officers were barred from commenting on the investigation. The exact number of officers involved in the scandal is unclear. LMAO, thats what they call a W.. It was one of several changes to the police complaint process municipal officials said were made after receiving recommendations from the grand jury. They were stopped, they say, because two of them are black. 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. Atty. Civil rights activists and police watchdog groups claim that the department is among the most racially biased and militaristic in Southern California. WebTorrance, CA 90503-5056 310-618-5529 The Records Division is a service support unit within the Services Bureau. The City Council only considered surveying the community about an oversight commission on March 15 to fulfill the terms of a lawsuit settlement. He eventually went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later. . Gascn has hired a special prosecutor to review for possible criminal charges. John L. Fellows III calling the Justice Departments allegations totally groundless. Although a current racial breakdown of officers was not available, the government said that in 1992 only three of the departments 233 sworn officers (1.2%) were black, 15 (6.4%) were Latino and six (2.5%) were Asian. Gascn has already publicly identified two of the men involved in the scandal as former Officers Cody Weldin and Christopher Tomsic, who were charged in August with conspiracy and vandalism for allegedly spray-painting a swastika inside a vehicle. 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. 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. In 1988, two Torrance police officers were caught on video choking and clubbing Thomas Tice, 20, at a Sunday afternoon party. His work has been recognized by the National Headliner Club, the Associated Press Sports Editors, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association and the Orange County Press Club. In Torrance, the Police and Fire Departments costs make up 65% of the citys general fund budget. . it. A Justice Department official said the agency broadened its inquiry because of complaints such as those in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed in September by three teen-agers with no criminal records who are now students at prestigious East Coast universities. 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. He graduated from California State University, Fullerton, in 1981 with a bachelor of arts in communication. The comments represent a sliver of a trove of racist text messages exchanged by more than a dozen current and former Torrance police officers and recruits. Towing Services (Van Lingen): 310-370-4533 / 310-326-9220, Torrance Mental Evaluation Team: 310-618-5683, 3031 Torrance Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503 | P: (310) 328-5310 | Contact | Login. First, three officers were suspended, and now face firing, for allegedly socializing--in uniform and on duty--with strippers at a private Torrance residence. 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. From: Alexander Cartwright and Jennifer Dirmeyer, Subject: California Public Records Act Request: Torrance, CA PD Citizen Complaints. In the course of my work I regularly defend police officers and police policy, Cramer wrote. The department has also hired an 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. Torrance, CA 90503-5056. 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. We expect that as police officers, our members should be treated like any other citizen considered innocent until proven guilty, the union said in a statement. Before they start complaining too loudly about how much it Judge Amy Carter will decide whether to suppress evidence from the personal cellphones of ex-officers Corey Weldin and Christopher Tomsic. According to district attorneys records reviewed by The Times, Concannon once sent a troubling text message referring to a deposition he gave in an officer-involved shooting., They believed our lies. 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.. We are aggressive, and sometimes we get some lawsuits, he said. 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. 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]. 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. 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. 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. they have one of the worst reputations, Lynn said. Torrance police vehicles outside the Gable House Bowl after a shooting in 2019. We had to [expletive] her up because we knew he wouldnt, one officer wrote in one exchange about an altercation with a female suspect. However, Jackson rejected the grand jurys request to initiate an appeal process if the complainant is dissatisfied with the disposition of an investigation. . A Torrance police officer has been charged with assault for his role in a 2018 shooting. The sum was upped to $9 million by a judge and the case finally was settled for $6.5 million. Rob Bonta said Wednesday his office will investigate the department in the wake of the scandal. Please include the number of officer-involved shootings resulting in discipline. 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.. Kristy Hutchings covers all things Long Beach including local government, politics, and the environment. Usually, conversations always seemed to circle back to vile insults or depictions of violence against Black people. The Records Division is a service support unit within the Services Bureau. SB 2 is far reaching and it is another model towards police accountability that we didnt have before in the state, Hart said. 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