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Fisherman Acquitted After Stabbing His Tormentor

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San Francisco, CA — A senior citizen whose fishing trip turned into a nightmare after a younger man beat him and urinated into his bait bucket was acting in self-defense when he stabbed his assailant, a jury found Wednesday afternoon.

 

Pakwai Woo, a 65-year-old retired baker from San Francisco, was found not guilty of one count assault with a deadly weapon. The jury deliberated only an hour before reaching its verdict, said Woo’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Scott Grant.  Woo, who had no criminal record and had never before been in a fight, was arrested Aug. 14 after stabbing 49-year-old Zhi Chen in the back of the knee at Pier 30.

 

The trouble between the men started a month previously, when Woo sided with another man who was arguing with Chen over who had caught a particular fish. On Aug. 14, they ran into each other at the same fishing spot. Chen, who had been drinking, approached the retiree, unzipped his pants, and began aiming his urine stream into Woo’s bucket of live bait, which was suspended from the pier from a rope, Grant said.

 

When Woo asked Chen to stop, he testified, Chen responded belligerently, insisting he would urinate wherever he’d like. Then Chen, who outweighs Woo by 50 pounds, punched Woo and pushed him to the ground, an independent witness testified during the three-day trial.

 

Woo scrambled to his feet and ran a few feet away, where he pulled out his pocket knife and waved it. Chen then pushed past people who were trying to hold him back and kicked Woo in the chest. Woo raised his arm in self-defense, stabbing Chen once in the leg.

 

Responding police officers arrested Woo without interviewing him, since he speaks only Cantonese, Grant said.

 

During the trial, Chen’s fishing buddies, who had been drinking on the day of the incident, testified on his behalf but gave wildly inconsistent stories, Grant said. Chen admitted on the stand that he started the fight and witnesses testified to Woo’s gentle nature.

 

“The only independent witness in the case testified that he saw Mr. Chen coming after Mr. Woo again after beating him,” Grant said.  “Mr. Woo just wanted to enjoy a day of fishing when he was attacked without provocation.”

 

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi said the case was a clear instance of self-defense.

 

“They say the truth will set you free, but in  this case, it took elbow grease and a gumshoe investigation by a public defender, who was able to show that Mr. Woo acted in self-defense and saved him from an unjust jail sentence,” Adachi said.

 

The acquittal is the latest in a string of victories for the Public Defender’s Misdemeanor Unit. In January-March, deputy public defenders won 56 percent of their 43 misdemeanor jury trials.

 

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Acquittals in Submerged Car, Road Rage Cases

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San Francisco, CA — A father accused of spinning ‘donuts’ with his car before plunging the vehicle into the Bay and a moped-rider charged with head-butting a Lexus driver were acquitted in separate cases Tuesday afternoon, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced today.

 

Jury members deliberated less than two hours before finding Agapito Hernandez, 38, of San Francisco, not guilty of child endangerment, reckless driving and giving false information to an officer, said his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Lutes-Koths. Hernandez was acquitted of a fourth misdemeanor charge, driving without a license, by the judge.

 

Hernandez was arrested March 4 after his SUV plunged into the frigid waters near the Gashouse Cove Marina. Hernandez, his two teenage sons and their friend were inside the vehicle but escaped injury. The foursome had finished a late-night crabbing trip when Hernandez tried to back out of his parking space, he testified.  When the car wouldn’t move, Hernandez hit the gas harder and the SUV spun out of control. His brakes, which had given him minor problems in the past, failed to work. Hernandez spun the car in one-and-a-half circles to avoid hitting anything, then lost control. The SUV went over the sidewalk and into the Bay.

 

At the two-day trial, a witness who helped the family out of the water testified that although he used the word “donuts” to the responding police officer, he only saw the car spun in one-and-a-half circles.  Hernandez’s sons also testified that the incident was an accident, not reckless driving.

 

Hernandez, who has no criminal record, told responding officers that he had been having brake trouble, but police never investigated the mechanical mishap. There were no signs on the ground that the car had been doing donuts.

 

“Mr. Hernandez is a sweet, honest family man,” Lutes-Koths said.  “It’s sad he had to go through an arrest and trial because police never attempted to investigate whether this was an accident.”

 

In the second victory for San Francisco public defenders Tuesday, a jury acquitted engineering student Tarek Oueslati, 34, of San Francisco, of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, battery and assault. A driving on a suspended license charge was dismissed mid-trial.

 

Oueslati was arrested Aug. 3, 2011 following a road rage incident in downtown San Francisco sparked by accidentally cutting off a Lexus with his moped. The Lexus driver, an attorney, began honking furiously at Oueslati as the men drove up Sutter Street. As they approached a red light at Franklin Street, the driver got out of his car and confronted Oueslati, said Oueslati’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Kevin Mitchell.

 

After yelling at Oueslati, the motorist got back into his vehicle. The driver claimed Oueslati then spit through the Lexus’ open window as the light turned green — an accusation Oueslati denied. The man swung open his car door, hitting Oueslati’s moped, then pushed him in the chest with both hands, Oueslati testified.

 

Oueslati told the jury he then head-butted the man once with his helmet in self-defense. When the driver sought medical treatment weeks later, he learned he suffered a detached retina that required surgery to repair.

 

During the weeklong trial, jurors heard testimony from a police officer who had been conducting a traffic stop nearby. The officer claimed he did not see any spit, but that Oueslati head-butted the Lexus driver twice. A passenger of the motorist who was being pulled over by the officer also took the stand, testifying that a bus blocked both his and the officer’s views of the confrontation.

 

“Mr. Oueslati maintained his innocence from the beginning,” Mitchell said. “In fact, he begged police officers to get the footage from the camera mounted nearby, but they refused.”

 

Adachi said the two victories illustrated the need to look beneath the surface of criminal allegations.

 

“After our office investigated these cases, it became clear these were not crimes, simply a car accident and a case of self-defense,” Adachi said. “What sometime appears to be a crime turns out to be an unfortunate circumstance where no criminal intent existed.”

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Man Cleared of Threats, Battery

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San Francisco, CA — A man accused of flying into a violent rage after discovering a couple having an illicit tryst in his home was cleared of all charges Monday afternoon following a jury trial.

 

Jury members deliberated a day and a half before finding San Francisco resident Ricardo Politron-Sanchez, 43, not guilty of battery on a cohabitant and threats, both misdemeanors. The jury deadlocked on misdemeanor assault, which was then dismissed by the district attorney, said Politron-Sanchez’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Ariana Downing.

 

Politron-Sanchez was arrested Feb. 21 after he and his girlfriend came home from a dance club to find her married cousin and the cousin’s boyfriend in their residence.  Politron-Sanchez became angry and accused his girlfriend of letting the pair use their apartment for trysts, Downing said.

 

At the week-long trial, Politron-Sanchez testified that as he was showing the couple to the door, the man began behaving in a threatening manner. Politron-Sanchez picked up a small folding knife from a nearby shelf and pointed the folded knife at the door before telling the man to leave. Politron-Sanchez’s girlfriend, who mistakenly believed Politron-Sanchez would stab her cousin’s lover, jumped up and grabbed Politron-Sanchez, sending both of them careening into a mirror, which crashed to the floor.

Politron-Sanchez’s girlfriend then claimed that Politron-Sanchez held the knife over her head and threatened her as she picked up the glass. Over the following days, she added that Politron-Sanchez also hit her, kicked her, and pelted her with a beer can.

 

Politron-Sanchez’s girlfriend told several different versions of the incident to police, prosecutors and on the stand, Downing said. When asked to speak to an investigator from the Public Defender’s Office, the woman told Downing, “No, I’ve told too many different versions already.”

 

Downing said the not guilty verdict was due to a lack of evidence against Politron-Sanchez and the complaining witness’ changing story.

 

“Each detail of the story revealed evidence of her dishonesty. For example, she never mentioned a beer can to police at the scene or in her written statement. Later, she told an investigator that she was hit with the beer can while picking up glass. On the stand, she changed her story to say that she was kneeling down on the floor, her eyes raised to God,” Downing said.

 

Politron-Sanchez faced up to three years behind bars if convicted of all charges.

 

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi commended Downing for untangling the confusing tale to get to the truth.

“This is a case where Ms. Downing’s exacting cross-examination revealed that the witness was untruthful in her statements to police.  The truth of this case and the hard work of his lawyer ultimately set Mr. Politron-Sanchez free,” Adachi said.

Public Defender Asks Judge To Set Aside Pleas In Tainted DUI Convictions

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San Francisco, CA — The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office today filed a legal challenge in the first of hundreds of driving under the influence convictions tainted by improperly-tested field sobriety equipment.

 

The case involves a man who entered a no contest plea Nov. 7 to one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence. He was sentenced to five days in jail and three years’ probation, with the condition he pay $1,463 in fines and complete a three-month program for first offenders. The brief filed today asks to withdraw the man’s plea.

 

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi said his office will review up to 1,000 cases after an examination of police records revealed a failure by officers to maintain accuracy readings of Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) devices since at least 2006.

 

Approximately 150 cases have been identified so far, Adachi said. All are misdemeanor convictions that occurred within the past six months.

 

“We have prioritized these 150 cases because some clients only have a six-month window to  withdraw their guilty pleas and ask for a review,” Adachi said.  “This is the first step to providing legal relief to hundreds of people who may have been wrongly convicted.”

 

The hand-held device, called the Alco Senor IV, is used to test the breath of drivers following traffic stop. It requires accuracy checks every 10 days. DUI expert Jim Norris, who was in charge of the San Francisco Police Department Forensic Services Division from 1995-2004, determined officers have not followed their own policies and manufacturer’s instructions for calibrating the devices for at least seven years.

 

“Some of our clients were convicted based on the blood alcohol content indicated by these faulty tests,” Adachi said. “There must be a case by case review.”

 

Norris’ examination of police procedure and records are included in the brief, which will be assigned to a judge on Wednesday. Challenges in the remaining cases are expected to be filed over the next several months.

 

Adachi urged public defender clients who were arrested by the SFPD, given a breath test at the scene of their arrest and subsequently convicted of a DUI, to call his office at 415-553-1081

 

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SF District Attorney and Public Defender to Review Driving Under the Influence Cases Involving Preliminary Alcohol Screening Devices

Larry
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San Francisco, CA — Public Defender Jeff Adachi and District Attorney George Gascón are investigating cases where Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) devices were used by the San Francisco Police Department when arresting a suspect for driving under the influence.

Since the mid-1990’s, the SF Police Department has used PAS devices to administer breath tests to motorists suspected of driving under the influence.

The SFPD has used the Alco Sensor IV, a handheld device capable of capturing a breath sample, to provide a blood to breath ratio of the amount of alcohol in the suspect’s blood. The Alco Sensor IV is not an intoxilizer.

Under the SFPD Policy Manual and the PAS manufacturer’s guide, accuracy checks of the devices are required every 10 days. The accuracy test, which uses a known sample to test the PAS device’s ability to read blood alcohol level, is designed to ensure that the device is working properly.

Public Defender Adachi said that several Deputy Public Defenders who had reviewed accuracy logs noticed that the maintenance records showed that the results of sample testing when compared to the actual reading were identical.

“It’s a mathematical impossibility to consistently have the same results for sample testing and the actual reading,” said Adachi. This prompted Adachi’s office to bring the discrepancy to the District Attorney, who determined that while the SF Police Department was calibrating the PAS devices, they were not conducting the required accuracy tests.

District Attorney Gascón said that upon learning of the discrepancy, he took action by not using the PAS device in pending cases and sending a notice to defense attorneys. “We are in the process of identifying cases that could be affected. Until the review is done we don’t know the number of cases that could be affected.” said Gascón. Gascón also said that the Police Department is cooperative and he is working with SF Police Chief Greg Suhr to ensure that the correct maintenance procedures are followed in the future. Until the police develop new procedures, the District Attorney will not admit PAS evidence in pending cases. As for past cases where the PAS evidence was used, “we will carefully review closed cases to determine if further action is needed.” Gascón said

Adachi said that his office handles hundreds of driving under the influence cases each year, and that his office is investigating cases as far back as 2006.

“We do not know how many cases will be affected at this point, but we are asking anyone who was convicted of driving under the influence or alcohol related driving offense to contact our office.” Adachi said that only cases involving the SF Police Department where a PAS device was used during the arrest would be potentially affected.  Adachi said that his office has set up a special number, 553-1081 for former clients of the office to call. Clients represented by private attorneys or non-public defender appointed lawyers should contact the attorney who handled their case.

PDF version containing supporting documentation: PAS-devices-press-release

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Self-Defense Overcharged As Murder Results in Acquittal

Larry
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San Francisco, CA — A man who was attacked in his home by two men, one of them wielding dual broken bottles, was acquitted of murder charges on February 23, Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced.

Phuc Le, 44, the son of a U.S. serviceman who came to this country through the Amerasian Homecoming Act was found not guilty after two days of jury deliberation on charges of murdering Tuan Nguyen, 36. He was represented by Deputy Public Defender Manohar Raju.

Mr. Le was in his home in the wee hours of February 6th, 2010, when two intoxicated male acquaintances and one female acquaintance came to his home.  A verbal altercation which arose when they demanded money turned physical when Long Vu, 32, threw a mala (Buddhist rosary) of prayer beads from Mr. Le’s late mother’s Buddhist shrine at Mr. Le.

When Mr. Le asked his visitors to leave, they became increasingly angry and Mr. Vu began breaking Heineken bottles and brandished them as shanks against Mr. Le.  Mr. Le retrieved a kitchen knife to defend himself and continually shouted for his visitors to leave.

In the ensuing scuffle the non-bottle-breaker male, Mr. Nguyen, was stabbed in the heart.  Testing by the Medical Examiner revealed that Mr. Nguyen had a blood alcohol level of .30.
Mr. Le, speaking Vietnamese through an interpreter, withstood a full day of withering cross-examination as he explained how he only had the knife to scare his dangerous visitors away and only raised it to ward off the two as they came at him rather than leaving his apartment.  The two non-injured visitors fled, while Mr. Le stayed on the scene, tried to revive Mr. Nguyen, and then called 911.

Mr. Le’s attorney, Manohar Raju said, “Mr. Le is a hardworking family man who works as a hardwood floor installer. This is a case of a man who was forced to defend himself against a pair of assailants who attacked him with broken bottles. We are grateful that the jury found that Mr. Le acted in self-defense and acquitted him.”

The defense team also included investigator Andrew Koltuniak, paralegals Colleen Kojima and Joan Kruckewitt, and interns Kiran Shenoy and Ami Hong Nguyen, who is fluent in Vietnamese.

In the two years that the case was in progress, Mr. Le was held in San Francisco County Jail.

Mr. Adachi said that the case illustrates the practice of overcharging by prosecutors in criminal cases.

“This was a clear case of prosecutorial overcharging,” Adachi said. “A man attacked with sharp objects in his home shouldn’t have been charged with first degree murder. This is the reason why cases need to be tried before ordinary citizens who will vote their conscience.”

PDF: Public Defender Press Release 02-24-12

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When “Realities” Collide, There Is Reasonable Doubt

Larry
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San Francisco, CA — A young man was acquitted of attempted murder charges on February 17, 2012, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced.

Terence Singleton, 25, was acquitted of attempted murder charges.  If convicted of the original charges, he would have been sentenced to life in prison. Instead, the jury deliberated for only an hour before finding him not guilty of the charges.

This was a case which looked pretty awful for Singleton until the complaining witness, his girlfriend, walked into the Public Defender’s Office and spoke with Singleton’s attorney, Qiana Washington, and gave a lengthy recorded statement admitting to fabricating the story to police. At trial, the complaining witness refused to testify under advice of her attorney.

Instead of being a hapless victim to a vicious attack, she had brought a gun along to add weight to her argument that Singleton should turn some money over to her. Instead of being shot at by Singleton, she admitted to trying to cock the gun to threaten him. When the gun jammed, she threw it on the ground and it discharged.

She promptly hotfooted it to the police station to make sure her version of events got in before her boyfriend got a chance to. Much like a game of tag, the first person to give a statement wins. The police arrested Singleton for attempted murder.

Learning the gravity of the charges filed against Singleton, she admitted to the police that she had lied. They threatened to charge her with filing a false police report and report her to CPS. As a result, she came to the Public Defender and told the truth.

Subsequent investigations indicated that she has a history of domestic violence and other unprovoked attacks.

Defense attorney Qiana Washington thoroughly prepared her case and subpoenaed witnesses including a police officer who testified about an incident in which the complaining witness had stabbed a previous boyfriend. Washington also presented audio of the confession by the complaining witness.

The jury took a look at the Rashomon-like competing realities and concluded there was more than enough reasonable doubt to drop the charges against our client.

“This was a living nightmare for my client, who could have faced life in prison for a crime that was manufactured from the complaining witness’ false statements,” said Singleton’s attorney, Qiana Washington.

Adachi said the case highlights the importance of jurors weighing all the available information so that they can assess the credibility of witnesses.

“We were fortunate in this case that there was a voluntary statement by the alleged victim which contradicted her earlier statement to police.” Adachi said.

PDF: Public Defender Press Release 02-22-12
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Public Defender’s Office Celebrates Nine Decades of Delivering Justice to San Franciscans

Larry
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The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office is celebrating its 90th Anniversary, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced.

In 1921, the California Legislature passed the Public Defender Act after Clara Foltz, California’s first female lawyer, spent years advocating for the creation of Public Defenders’ offices to provide legal assistance to poor people in criminal law cases. Later in 1921, responding to the Public Defender Act, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance creating the Office of the Public Defender.

San Francisco is unique among the counties of San Francisco in having elected Public Defenders. There have been seven individuals who have served as Public Defender in the 90 years from 1921 to the present: Frank J. Egan, Gerald J. Kenny, Edward Mancuso, Robert Nicco, Jeff Brown, Kimiko Burton, and Jeff Adachi.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors appointed Frank J. Egan as the first Public Defender; his term commenced on October 15, 1921. He was elected to as Public Defender in August of 1922 and served in the position for ten years. Following Frank J. Egan’s removal from office, Gerald J. Kenny was appointed Public Defender in 1932 and subsequently elected.

In 1935 the Civil Grand Jury found that “The office of Public Defender, under the direction of Mr. Gerald J. Kenney, has been handled in a most efficient manner.” Kenney served as Public Defender for two decades, dying in office in 1954.

Edward Mancuso was appointed in 1954 by Mayor Elmer Robinson to complete Gerald Kenney’s term and the Public Defender began to represent indigent people accused of misdemeanors as well as those accused of felonies.

By the time of the Supreme Court’s 1963 decision in Gideon v. Wainwright which clarified the Constitutional mandate for public defenders, San Francisco had already had a Public Defender’s Office for over 40 years.

Upon the retirement of Edward Mancuso in 1974, Robert Nicco, who had been Chief Attorney under Mancuso was appointed Public Defender and then elected in November 1974. Under Robert Nicco’s tenure, the office’s diversity was broadened, including the hiring of Estella Wheatley Dooley, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office’s first African-American female employee, and Fred Smith, an African-American man who was Chief Deputy Attorney from 1974-1979.

When Robert Nicco chose not to run for Public Defender, Jeff Brown was elected Public Defender in 1978. Under Jeff Brown’s tenure as Public Defender, after decades of occupying cramped space in the Hall of Justice, the Office moved across Bryant Street into its current location at 555 7th Street in 1987.

Jeff Brown resigned from the Public Defender’s Office in 2001 and Kimiko Burton was appointed as Public Defender. In 2002 Jeff Adachi was elected as Public Defender, and following his swearing in as Public Defender in 2003, Jeff Adachi named Teresa Caffese as Chief Attorney, the first woman to serve in that role.

Jeff Adachi oversaw the creation of the Office’s Paralegal Unit and Clean Slate Program. In 2005 the Clean Slate Program, of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office received the Mayor’s Fiscal Advisory Committee’s Managerial Excellence Team Award and in 2006, Clean Slate received the California Public Defender’s Association Program of the Year Award. In 2006 Jeff Adachi received the American Bar Association’s Dorsey Award, honoring an outstanding public defender or legal aid lawyer. In 2007 Jeff Adachi received the California Lawyer of the Year Award.

In its 90 years of existence, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office has enabled countless people to exercise their constitutional right to counsel. The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office will be celebrating its 90th Anniversary with a private event on December 9, 2011.

Adachi noted that free legal representation is important because it prevents miscarriages of justice.

“The right to legal counsel in this country is a sacred constitutional right, and over the past 90 years, our office has grown from our humble beginnings to a world class team of lawyers, investigators, paralegals, and support staff who work tirelessly to provide high quality representation to those who cannot afford to hire a lawyer,” said Adachi.

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Acquittal in Mistaken iPhone Thief Case

Larry
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San Francisco, CA — A young man who was accused of theft of an iPhone was acquitted on November 16, 2011, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced.

Ronnie Morrisette, 26, was acquitted of robbery, assault, false imprisonment, and four lesser charges. After a week-long trial, the jury deliberated for less than a day before reaching unanimous acquittals on all seven charges. If convicted, Morrisette faced up to six years in state prison.

In a chaotic scene, Morrisette was standing on the stairs to get off the 14-Mission Muni bus around 2:00AM on August 11, 2011. As the bus approached the stop at 9th and Mission, a never-identified young man snatched an iPhone out of passenger Rebecca Olarte’s hands and ran off the bus. In the thief’s haste, he bumped into Morrisette, knocking Morrisette’s phone and iPod to the ground. Olarte ran to chase after the thief and crashed into Morrisette, who was reaching down to pick up his items. Olarte, in the confusion, reached toward Morrisette’s phone and iPod and appeared to be holding something in her hands. Morrisette, who did not know that Olarte’s iPhone had been stolen, believed that Olarte took his phone and iPod, so he struggled to get his own property back.

Olarte, who admitted that she was intoxicated that night, believed that Morrisette was somehow involved in the theft of her iPhone. She testified that Morrisette was saying something to her during the struggle, but she could not remember what he said. Mr. Morrisette testified in his own defense. The only independent witness saw Morrisette struggling with Olarte over an object in her hand and corroborated everything Morrisette said happened.

Witnesses testified that Morrisette was dressed in bright flashy clothing, in happy mode, making friends, and was sharing drinks while on the bus. The actual thief went unnoticed, not speaking to anyone on the bus and dressed in dark clothing. There was never any evidence that Morrisette had ever spoken to the thief or got on the bus with him.

Public Defender Investigator Jill Schroeder testified that when she retrieved Morrisette’s property held by the jail, it included headphones, cell phone charger, and an iPod charger, proving he did have these items, although during the struggle Morrisette’s cell phone and iPod were lost and not recovered.

“Ronnie was a student at Wyotech College studying to be a motorcycle technician when he was wrongly arrested in connection with the theft of Ms. Olarte’s iPhone on Muni. Ronnie didn’t know the thief who took Ms. Olarte’s phone and had nothing to do with it. But because he was young and black, just like the thief, Ronnie was accused of involvement. After three months of sitting in jail, waiting for justice, an innocent man was finally vindicated by the jury and granted his freedom. Ronnie, his family, and his 7-year-old daughter are greatly relieved.” said his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Peter Santina.

On the day of the acquittal, Ronnie Morrisette was released from the jail after midnight and went home. Thanks to the work of the Public Defender’s Office team of attorneys, investigators, paralegals and interns, an innocent man was kept out of prison.

Adachi said the first impressions of the incident were not borne out by further examination of the evidence.

“This case shows how easy it is for an innocent person to find themselves charged with a crime. Studies have shown that mistaken identification is the greatest cause of wrongful convictions.” Adachi said.

PDF: Public Defender press release 11/21/11

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Public Defender Calls for Change Following New Police Misconduct Evidence

Larry
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San Francisco, CA — Revealing evidence of a fabricated police report, excessive force against a blameless merchant, and police theft, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi today called on the SFPD to: (1) launch an immediate investigation into new reports of police misconduct, and (2) to institute a zero tolerance policy for officers who steal or who lie in police reports.

Surveillance footage released at a news conference at the Public Defender’s office shows police responding to an August 16, 2011 call regarding two men arguing outside a Richmond District market. The video shows officers interrogating market owner Charles Tran, age 44, who was not involved in the fight and has no criminal history. Police then pushed Tran without provocation, slapped his hand, yanked his arm behind his back, handcuffed him, threw him against a wall, and kicked his legs out from beneath him, causing him to fall to the pavement. Tran was then handcuffed on the ground for 15 minutes in front of his store before being released. The report describing the incident was signed by police under penalty of perjury. In an apparent attempt to justify the excessive force, the report falsely described Tran as balling his fist and taking a fighting stance against the officer. This description cannot be reconciled with the video. Tran and his family filed a complaint against officers today with the Office of Citizen Complaints. The officers involved in the incident are Joseph Filamor, who used excessive force, and Kevin Ison, who wrote the false report.

“The manner in which Mr. Tran is treated by officers is unconscionable and unconstitutional. Creating a false report compounds the injury to Mr. Tran.” Adachi said. “It is further evidence of a police department culture that ignores residents’ rights and permits officers to perjure themselves in order to justify their conduct. The Police Commission recently ratified its commitment to Community Policing; abusing business owners at their place of work flies of the face of the stated policies of the Department.”

Today’s evidence follows a series of surveillance videos released by the Public Defender in March through May of this year showing systematic misconduct among officers, including illegal searches, excessive force, theft, and perjury. The revelations spawned an ongoing federal investigation.

The Public Defender renewed his call on the Chief and the Commission to establish a zero tolerance policy for officers found to have lied in police reports or to have committed theft. “In any other workplace employees lose their jobs for lying and stealing. We should hold police officers to at least the same standard as the general public.”

“When the video scandal surfaced, SFPD brass promised more honest policing. The termination of four officers this week suggests that the Commission will hold officers accountable for their actions. We therefore expect that the Commission will move swiftly to address these serious new charges. ”

The Public Defender’s Police Misconduct Unit released information today in five cases involving alleged theft by officers. The complaints implicate Mission Station officers – including Ricardo Guerrero, Peter Richardson, Jacob Fegan, Kevin Healy, and Robert Sanchez – in the thefts. Those officers were implicated in previous cases of misconduct, including an incident in which Guerrero is caught on video carrying a duffel bag filled with personal items out of a man’s hotel room. The man later reported the items missing and they were never booked into evidence.

The new complainants include:

  • Rick Short, who alleges that officers stole $10,000 in cash from a safe in his bedroom during the execution of a search warrant on April 30, 2011. Short’s case has been dismissed. His story is corroborated by witnesses. Officers involved in his case are Michael Wibunsin, Peter Richardson, Ricardo Guerrero, Robert Sanchez, and Jacob Fegan.
  • Joe Melvin, who was not charged with a crime, who alleges officers stole $300 and a Nokia Internet Tablet while he was detained during a search of his apartment in 2011. Melvin’s roommate was the subject of the search warrant. Officers involved in the search were Jacob Fegan, Ricardo Guerrero, Peter Richardson, Robert Sanchez, Kevin Healy, Jeffrey Cuenca, and John Cvetovac.
  • Rosario Encarnacion Lopez Rodriguez, who was not charged with a crime, who alleges her brother’s watch, her nephew’s iPod and $2,300 – including $500 from her child’s piggy bank – was stolen by officers during a March 11, 2011 search warrant executed on her husband, Cervando Carvajal. Carvajal’s case has since been dismissed. Lopez’s claims are corroborated by witnesses. Officers involved in the search were Kevin Healy, Ricardo Guerrero, Peter Richardson, Robert Sanchez, Reynaldo Vargas, Jacob Fegan, and Adam Kujath.
  • Brandon Stanton, whose $650 in cash disappeared after police conducted an August 4, 2010 raid on his roommate. Stanton was never charged in connection with the raid. His story is corroborated by witnesses. Officers involved in the search were Jacob Fegan, Ricardo Guerrero, Peter Richardson, Robert Sanchez, Kevin Healy, Britt Elmore, Reynaldo Vargas, David Sands, Robert Greiner, Matthew Kenney, John Cathey, Eileen Cooper, Michael Moody, Joseph Emanuel, Luis Oliva, Mario Molina, and Kenneth Esposto.
  • Robert Karganilla, who claims police stole his Canon Powershot camera during a May 12, 2010 routine traffic stop. The Office of Citizen Complaints sustained his claim that police failed to book the camera into evidence. His camera has not been returned and he has not been compensated for his loss.

The Public Defender has compiled a body of information corroborating their statements. Two have passed a polygraph; we were unable to obtain conclusive results on three others. None were found to be deceitful. Further corroborating information is available upon request.

PDF: Public Defender Press Release Nov 3 2011 plus incident report and statement

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