You simply have to read the quarterly report submitted to the Police Commission by the Office of Citizen Complaints (OCC). It will have your head spinning by the time you finish - here‘s a sample excerpt taken verbatim from their 3rd Quarter Report:
Section III: Investigation of Cases
“By the end of the 2010 third quarter, the OCC opened 664 new cases, and closed 648 cases. The adjusted total of opened cases was 630. The adjusted total excludes cases that were voided or merged. During this quarter, the OCC closed 16 fewer cases than it opened. The OCC closed the quarter with 397 pending cases which are 4 less pending cases than the close of the third quarter in 2009. By the end of the 2010 third quarter there were 27 pending cases from 2009 and 397 pending cases from 2010.”
Sounds like Bernie Madoff is running the OCC statistical report from his cellblock.
And, when you look at pending cases in the report they submitted, you’ll find the following:
September/2008: 396 Cases Pending
September/2009: 401 Cases Pending
September/2010: 397 Cases Pending
Really?! Are we backed up over 1,000 cases?
But this is just the beginning. Take a look at their other numbers. Especially, the Unwarranted Action (UA) and Conduct Reflecting Discredit (CRD) allegations. These are allegations that are constantly paired together with little basis in fact.
The Police Commissioners probably don’t realize it but this is where the OCC can really ‘pad’ their books. I think the best way to describe this function is to use a real example. We had an officer who arrested an individual on an outstanding felony warrant (and, yes, the warrant was previously confirmed prior to the arrest.) The officer was subsequently charged with Unwarranted Action. When I asked the OCC investigator how they could possibly charge the officer under those circumstances he said that because the suspect told the OCC that he should not have been arrested they had no choice except to take his complaint . . . the inmates really are running things over at OCC.
And, it’s also pretty obvious that the UA and CRD complaints are easy stats to pump up the workload when you see what happens to them after they’ve been investigated. A great majority of them are dismissed as Proper Conduct which is indicative that if a good preliminary investigation was conducted in the first place the officer never would have been charged.
For example:
3rd Quarter Unwarranted Action (UA) Complaints: 159 reported
107 were Not Sustained
139 were Proper Conduct
I believe that works out to 87 more dispositions than complaints received . .
3rd Quarter Conduct Reflecting Discredit (CRD) Complaints: 118 reported
136 were Not Sustained
9 were Proper Conduct
27 more dispositions than complaints received . . . Hmmm.
It’s been common knowledge to the officers on the street for many years that
this is a numbers game. Keep the stats up even if they don’t make any sense and the money continuum for the OCC will always be there. It’s only a matter of time before this Police Commission catches up to the gamers.
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Meanwhile, there’s work to be done in the Taraval District where Officer Laxman Dharmani is working a one-officer unit at approximately 1030 in the morning when he notices a suspicious individual walking west on Irving past 9th Avenue. Officer Dharmani watches this subject for a while until he has the opportunity to engage in a dialogue. The conversation doesn’t last long since the individual was armed with both a knife and a fully-loaded, .357 magnum handgun. The subject put up some resistance when Officer Dharmani was checking him for weapons, trying to push Officer Dharmani away, but was soon in custody. This, again, raises the question of one-officer units and officer-safety. Things change real quick on the street and even though Officer Dharmani is more than capable of handling anything that might come his way it definitely doesn’t hurt to have a partner who can help out.
Officer Martin Covarrubias and Officer Ryan Doherty were partnered in the Bayview when they found the car driven by 4 suspects who were responsible for a whole series of armed robberies in the City. The suspects definitely had the pedigree for such behavior since they were all on parole for kidnapping and prior robbery sprees. And they certainly didn’t disappoint Officer Covarrubias and Officer Doherty since they had a carload of stolen property and several fully-loaded, semi-automatics that they, obviously, had no problem using if they had to.
Officer Ryan Doherty was later partnered up with Sergeant Kirk Yin assigned to the Bayview Violence Suppression Unit when they came across an individual who matched the description of a suspect who was supposed to be armed with a gun - he was. And not just any gun - it was a fully-loaded, .380 semi automatic with a laser sight. Nice. The fact that he was already on parole for robbery just complicated things . . . for him.
Looked like a narcotics transaction was taking place at Bayshore and Arleta so Officer Matthew Dudley and Officer Tigran Antonian stop to investigate. They detain 2 individuals and one of them gave enough of a reason to check for weapons - good thing they did. The suspect had a fully-loaded, .380 semi-automatic ready to go but he was not ready to give it up. The suspect fought with the officers trying to get a better hold on his weapon while both Matt and Tigran were fully aware of what would happen if he was able to get the gun. Fortunately, the partners were used to working together and had the suspect in cuffs in what was probably a short period of time but felt like a lot longer when there is a loaded gun in the mix. We need to also thank Officer Kuer and Officer Diagiacomo from the Daly City Police Department for responding to assist.
The officers had responded to the 2800 block of Broderick to investigate an arson. The home was multi-level and had sustained serious damage. Officer Michael Amoroso, Officer Steven Spagnuolo, Officer Michal Olkiewicz, Inspector Jeff Levin, and Inspector Jimmy Miranda were all present on the top floor obtaining a statement from the owner of the residence. She suspected her son was responsible for setting the earlier fire which had been put out over an hour before. Just then the officers watched as choking, black smoke started streaming from every vent in the home, filling it in a matter of seconds. They were all trapped upstairs as the arson suspect had struck again. They barely managed to get out of the building while also escorting the 81-year old resident to safety. Once they were out and had SFFD on the way they set up a command post and eventually located the suspect hidden in another backyard. Guns are just one hazard this job has - there are many others.
Dispatch was receiving numerous calls from neighbors on the 2100 block of Geneva Avenue at approximately 5:45 p.m.. The callers were describing an individual who was “waving a gun around” in the middle of the street. Officer Christina Johnson, Officer Robert Toomey, Officer Albert Johnson, and Officer Uwem Obot all responded to the call and found the suspect at Geneva and Santos. Let’s think about this for a minute. Most people would run the other way. Most people would want no part of this action. But these officers knew that if they didn’t neutralize the situation immediately someone could lose their life. And they made that decision without hesitation. And, if you read this column with any regularity, you’ll find that there are more guns out there than ever before and we aren’t talking weapons capable of small arms fire - most of the weapons recovered give their owner(s) an ample opportunity for an extended firefight. Fortunately, in this case, the officers executed their plan of attack as the professionals they are and the suspect was disarmed and relocated.
This is a very complex and demanding job. It’s a job that requires you wear a gun to work. And there’s a reason for that. No call is ever the same nor is there any guarantee you’ll be going home after your shift. But you can’t worry about all the possible consequences and live the life you deserve. So if the job starts getting to you don’t try to deal with it yourself. Give us a call. We’re not in the business to leave anyone behind
