Claim of Beating Is 1st Complaint for Police Review Panel

Octavio Osuna does not expect justice from the new Civilian Advisory Panel on Police Practices.

“It all sounds very political,” Osuna said Friday. “They were handpicked. They’re defending themselves. If this was anything else, I’d have a better chance.”

Osuna, a 44-year-old photographer, has alleged that he was beaten by two police officers in July. He has complained that the assault occurred after a traffic controller attempted to write him a second parking ticket in front of his studio on El Cajon Boulevard.

He alleged that the officers choked him, kicked him in the groin, hit him in the stomach, thumped him on the back with a baton, and dragged him by the throat. He was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor offense of preventing a police officer from doing his duty. Those charges are pending.

Osuna’s Is a Category One Complaint

Now he also carries the distinction of being the alleged victim in one of the first citizen complaints that the San Diego Police Department has turned over for inspection by its new police review panel.

According to police spokesman Lt. Louis J. Scanlon, all Category One complaints--those alleging excessive police force, racial or ethnic slurs, false arrest, discrimination, criminal conduct--will be provided to the new 12-member panel. This week, he said, the first six complaints, including Osuna’s, were given to the panel members for their review.

Police and board members declined to say which specific cases are being reviewed but confirmed that Osuna’s is among them.

The members, chosen by Police Chief Bill Kolender and City Manager John Lockwood, will issue an advisory opinion on how well the police internal affairs unit investigated the case. The panel has no subpoena powers, nor is it permitted to interview victims or witnesses. In addition, the Police Department is not obligated to follow any recommendations from the panel.

Scanlon said the review process calls for the internal affairs unit to first investigate a complaint, then allow the panel to review how objectively and thoroughly police probed the matter. The panel then issues an advisory opinion on how police dealt with the complaint. Police may consider that recommendation when they make a final determination in the case.

Minority Leaders Seek Stronger Panel

For these reasons, several groups in the minority community who boycotted the panel selection process have in recent weeks been discussing ways for the Police Department and City Council to create a review panel with more power.

Louis Lake, a spokesman for the Citizens on Police Excellence, said the community groups are debating the possibility of seeking a change in the City Charter to permit another nominating process for police review panel members.

Barbara Davis, a lawyer and community leader, said the groups are considering a voter initiative to force the City Council to upgrade the powers given to the police review board.

“This thing is so rigged, it’s a farce to me,” Ernest McCray, a community activist and school principal, said of the structure of the existing panel. “It’s an insult. I get so mad at some of those people for even taking part in this. I’m very disappointed.”

Other established community organizations are seeking their own remedies.

Robert A. Garcia, president of La Raza Lawyers Assn., has challenged the city attorney’s ruling that the City Charter gives the police chief sole authority to appoint the review board members. Garcia has sought an opinion from the state attorney general’s office that the City Charter and state law allow the city manager to select members of a civilian review panel.

“It’s not fair for the chief of police to appoint those people who will be reviewing his work,” Garcia said.

NAACP Has Own Plan for ‘Effective’ Review

Daniel Weber, president of the San Diego chapter of the NAACP, said his organization is working on a proposal to present to the mayor and council “to pass a law which requires the city manager to set up an effective police review board.”

The Rev. George Walker Smith, chairman of the police review panel, this week refused to discuss any of the complaints turned over to his group. He also declined to comment on how the panel members plan to review the police work.

Instead, he said the panel will meet behind closed doors Nov. 3, then decide when to hold a press conference and how much to discuss publicly about their findings.

The new review panel loses much of its credibility in that shroud of secrecy, said Davis, who is Osuna’s attorney.

“If they do it all in secrecy, how then do they come out with a public finding?” she asked. “I would love to have the opportunity to present my case and the witnesses to the board. I know the merits of my case.”

She said the Osuna case clearly shows that police used excessive, unnecessary force. But, she added, “I would be surprised if they came back with a recommendation favorable to my client. And that’s not based on the evidence. That’s based on the board.”

2nd Ticket Led to Spilled Coffee

Osuna said the assault occurred July 15, as the traffic controller began writing a second parking ticket on Osuna’s car, which was parked outside his photography studio. He said they argued over the ticket and that she knocked a cup of hot coffee out of his hand. The coffee splashed on her and she radioed for assistance.

“Two officers came and asked me where the guy was ‘That beat up the meter maid,’ ” Osuna alleged in his complaint. “One cop grabbed me by the throat and tried to put a choke hold on me. The other cop kicked me in the groin. Then one of them hit me on the back with his baton.

“After they handcuffed me, they hit me again. They dragged me outside by the throat and threw me in the back of the patrol car, hitting my head on the car. Then they hit me with their batons again. They hit me again in the groin and stomach. When I complained that the cuffs were too tight, they said, ‘Shut up, son of a bitch. You’re lucky you’re not in the morgue.’ ”

According to the official crime report, Officers Frank Christensen and James Smith said they were dispatched to the scene in the 5200 block of El Cajon Boulevard after the coffee was spilled during the argument with the traffic controller, Tamara Davis.

No Mention of Beating in Police Arrest Report

Upon arriving, the officers placed Osuna under arrest. The crime report does not mention any beating or assault that occurred when Osuna was arrested.

Roberto Martinez, co-chairman of the Coalition for Law and Justice, which helped Osuna file his complaint, said he doubts that the review panel will criticize police for the way they handled Osuna’s arrest.

“The role of these officers is not to carry out sentences in the street, not to carry out their own brand of justice,” he said.

Osuna added: “I wanted to be a police officer when I was a kid. I respected officers in those days. But when they came in and attacked me like they did, I lost all respect for them. They’re a bunch of animals.”