Parade of Witnesses in Penn Trial Portray Jacobs as Model Officer

A black San Diego police officer who worked in 1980 as Police Agent Donovan Jacobs’ partner on the beach enforcement team testified Wednesday in the Sagon Penn murder trial that Jacobs is not “racially biased.”

Officer Matthew Weathersby, a nine-year veteran now assigned to the Police Department’s public affairs division, said he knew of four or five racists on the San Diego police force, but Jacobs was not one of them.

“Donovan was able to keep his cool in a lot of difficult situations,” said Weathersby, who added that he had observed Jacobs handle about a dozen incidents involving black suspects when they worked together in the summer of 1980.

Numerous defense witnesses have said they heard Jacobs tell Penn, “You think you’re bad, nigger . . . I’m going to beat your black ass,” before the 24-year-old Southeast San Diego resident shot Jacobs once in the neck, killed another police officer and wounded a civilian observer on March 31, 1985.

When asked by defense attorney Milton Silverman if Jacobs could possibly have yelled racial slurs while sitting on top of Penn and punching him in the face, Weathersby responded:

“No way.”

Weathersby was the 10th police officer to testify on Jacobs’ behalf this week during the prosecution’s rebuttal phase of the trial. He had volunteered to take the witness stand.

“I told homicide who I was (and) acknowledged I was black,” said Weathersby, who told jurors that his career goal is to become a politician in San Diego. “I saw it as being an important aspect seeing as race is a key issue in this thing.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Carpenter had planned on calling at least 10 additional officers this week, but Superior Court Judge Ben W. Hamrick directed him on Wednesday to limit his character witnesses to three more officers.

“We don’t have to have everybody who has ever come in contact in the lifetime of (Jacobs) and indicate what a fine person he is,” Hamrick said.

In making his ruling, the judge agreed with Silverman’s claim that it was unfair to limit the defense to calling three character witnesses to testify against Jacobs while not holding the prosecution to the same rule.

Silverman also requested access to police reports of all arrests made by Jacobs since 1979 on the charge of resisting a police officer. The defense had been limited to such reports for the past three years, but Silverman argued that Penn is entitled to arrest reports going back to 1979 because the prosecution has focused on Jacobs’ outstanding career dating back to 1978.

“This is all untimely,” said Carpenter, who opposed the request. “(Silverman) should have known there would be good character evidence when he put in bad character evidence. We are on the verge of finishing the trial. We should go ahead and finish it.”

Before making a decision, Hamrick ordered the prosecutor to determine how long it would take police officials to retrieve the reports.

In another development, Silverman expressed concern that he could lose one of two black jurors if the prosecution’s rebuttal case dragged on much longer. Vernell Hardy, who is eight months pregnant, is due to deliver her baby on June 1.

Silverman suggested that the judge should consider delaying testimony or deliberations to allow Hardy to have her baby and return to the trial. The case is not expected to go to the jury for at least two weeks.

Penn is accused of murder in the death of Agent Thomas Riggs, and attempted murder for shooting Jacobs and Sarah Pina-Ruiz, a civilian ride-along who accompanied Riggs in his police car. Jacobs said he stopped Penn’s pickup truck for making an illegal U-turn. According to testimony from passengers in the truck and other witnesses, Penn didn’t make a U-turn.

Jacobs repeatedly struck Penn with his baton after Penn refused to take his driver’s license out of his wallet, witnesses said. The altercation ended when Penn grabbed Jacobs’ weapon and fired six rounds in less than six seconds. Jacobs was hit once, Riggs three times and Pina-Ruiz twice.

Penn then fled in a patrol car, running over Jacobs as the officer lay wounded in a Southeast San Diego driveway. The suspect turned himself in to police within 30 minutes.

Four police officers were called to the stand Wednesday to testify that Jacobs was a hard-working, physically fit cop who had no problems with excessive force or dangerous police calls.

Each witness was grilled by defense attorney Silverman.

“I felt he was a very low-key officer,” said Sgt. Harold Hiskes Jr., who supervised Jacobs’ work in Southeast San Diego during the five months leading up to the shootings. “He worked in minority areas and never had any problems or complaints.”

Under cross-examination, Hiskes said that Jacobs was one of the department’s leading experts in minority young gangs. He said that Jacobs was familiar with the colors worn by rival gang members.

Jacobs, who testified that he knew little about gangs, has maintained that he pulled over Penn’s pickup after he spotted a gang member wearing a black shirt, a color he considered to be “classic” attire for the Crips gang. Numerous witnesses have testified, however, that the Crips wear blue, not black.

Sgt. Dennis Sesma described Jacobs as an outstanding police officer, particularly when he made arrests of dangerous suspects under the influence of narcotics.

“What worked for him was his strictly business approach,” Sesma said. “He didn’t underestimate the people he was dealing with and he didn’t take them for granted. Donovan prided himself on being a professional.”

Sesma told Silverman that Jacobs was one of the department’s leading narcotics experts and knew the symptoms exhibited by people under the influence of PCP. Jacobs told police investigators that Penn was “whacked out” on PCP, but drug tests revealed that Penn had not taken any drugs.

The day’s final witness, Officer Ann Marie Tyler, refuted earlier defense testimony that Jacobs was unnecessarily rough when he arrested Anthony Fields, a 14-year-old black youth, on a burglary warrant on the same day of the shootings.

The boy’s mother, Marguerite Fields, had testified that Jacobs took her son’s arm and yanked it behind his back when he slapped on the handcuffs.

Tyler, who accompanied Jacobs on the Fields’ call, described the arrest as routine. She said that Jacobs told Fields to put his hands behind his back, and then handcuffed him without incident.

But under cross-examination, Tyler could not remember numerous other details of the arrest. For example, Tyler could not recall whether she or Jacobs transported Fields to the police station.