This was a real case involving a Santa Clara County police agency. I represented the suspect.; The offending officer's police report indicated that the suspect's injuries were due to a fall from his bike and that he appeared unconscious, although he had also struggled against being handcuffed.; There is no mention of police brutality. None of the back-up officers reported any brutality. One sergeant reported that the suspect kept trying to move around and had to be told to remain lying down. Another officer reported that the only verbal abuse was by the suspect toward officers.; The suspect subsequently complained of brutality. The internal affairs department determined that the complaint was unsubstantiated and the matter was dropped.; But four citizens called to complain that they had witnessed the arrest and that the suspect not only was not struggling but also had been brutally beaten.; According to the witnesses, the officer taunted the suspect, knelt on the suspect's stomach, beat him numerous times with his club and kicked him in his face.; The witnesses also said:; The suspect at no time resisted. The only words from the suspect were pleas for help. In response to another officer's inquiry, the original officer picked up the suspect, let his head fall to the pavement and said, "It looks like he's dead." Both officers smirked and laughed.; The offending officer was later arrested and prosecuted by the district attorney.; What if there had not been four citizens who observed the brutal beating of my client?; One of the problems in monitoring police brutality is that almost all victims of police abuse have themselves committed some kind of law violation. This makes their complaints difficult to sustain.; But there is another problem: a police discipline system that is cloaked in secrecy.; San Jose Police Chief Joseph MacNamara recently referred to the Los Angeles incident as "disgusting brutality" and pointed out that the disturbing aspect was the failure of leadership and the code of silence. MacNamara diagnosed the problem as an organizational attitude for which the leadership must take responsibility. He correctly notes that it is important for police credibility that police chiefs break the code of silence and repudiate such acts and attitudes.; Unfortunately, MacNamara also believes that San Jose does not need a citizens' review board. I respectfully disagree. That is precisely what we need. Communities often don't know the extent and the nature of police misconduct. State privacy laws combined with investigation and reporting procedures keep brutality complaints sealed.; This is bad public policy. Government must remain accountable to its citizens. Those government employees who are given the right and the power to use force against citizens should be the most accountable. As MacNamara points out, police are public servants. A minimal invasion of their privacy is a small price to pay for the power to maim and kill.; Monitoring police brutality is further complicated by the fact that local communities leave it to the police departments to investigate citizen complaints. Although the penal code makes the findings of investigations confidential, investigations themselves can be conducted by the public and can be open to the public.; Complaints of police brutality should be handled in an open process that is neutral and thorough. Having the fox guard the chicken house fails to provide that assurance.; The attitude of the public will determine the effectiveness of the police discipline system. A system can be theoretically sound, but it must be respected by the public.; I agree with Councilwoman Blanca Alvarado's suggestion and the San Jose City Council's decision to create a system where a city official will receive and track citizen complaints about the police. I would further recommend that local communities establish citizen review boards.; Police accountability includes the right of the public to review records of investigations of complaints. Any loss of police confidentiality is a fair and necessary trade-off for the right to carry and use a club. Or a .45.
At the end of a high-speed chase in Santa Clara County a police officer takes his baton and brutally hits the suspect on the back four times, kicks him in the face, picks him up by the shoulders and slams his face into the pavement. The suspect suffers a dislocated shoulder, a concussion, and numerous cuts, bruises and contusions. The officer's report states that the suspect's injuries were due to a fall from his bike. None of the back-up officers reported any brutality. All too often a code of silence blocks prosecution of police brutality. That is why we need citizen review boards.