Police Report Irks Anaheim Latino Activists

Latino activists are criticizing an internal report by the city’s police chief that examines their allegations of police misconduct, but also tracks who is doing the complaining.

Anaheim Police Chief Roger Baker made the 36-page presentation before a closed session of the City Council last fall, but the activists had not viewed the document until Friday. Baker said the report was prepared in response to threatened litigation by the activists and outlined the department’s response to complaints during an 11-month period last year.

Those complaints--often delivered with fiery rhetoric before the City Council--include allegations of excessive force as well as illegal searches. But police internal investigations found no misconduct by officers, according to the report.

The activists disagree with the findings, but they also expressed concern about the report’s dossier-like nature. It included several newspaper clippings--some related to police complaints and others containing only biographical information about the activists--as well as an intricate “family tree” that details the interconnected links and relationships among them.

“I feel encroached. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Amin David, president of Los Amigos of Orange County, one of the two Anaheim-based community activist groups that were tracked in the diagram.

But Baker said the community should be reassured that the presentation was a proactive attempt to solve long-simmering problems between the Latino community and Anaheim police.

He cited a quote from a former police chief in 1975, complaining about continued run-ins with some of the same activists the department is working with today.

As a result of the study--which he calls a “snapshot in time” and not a criminal investigation--the department is working to improve communication. He created a new position, a community affairs sergeant to work with neighborhood groups; empowered captains to deal directly with the community; and began implementing a district policing plan.

‘There’s nothing secret here,” Baker said. “It all depends on how they want to look at it. If they want to be negative, they’re going to continue to be negative. But we’ve been able to look at ourselves and improve the way we do business with them. . . . My goal was to put my arms around this problem and deal with it collectively.”

The report breaks down the number of complaints, which included allegations of police harassment of Latinos, inappropriate use of weapons, and unprofessional conduct. The report said that seven complaints lodged by United Neighborhoods and Los Amigos in 2000 were investigated and found to be either untrue, could not be proven or deemed appropriate conduct. Investigating two of those complaints, the report states, cost the department $10,300 and 270 staff hours.

The activists said they believe the report is another attempt to discredit them and also wondered how much the department spent compiling it.

“If we have any sense that they’re violating our civil rights, then you better believe we’re going to do something about it,” said Josie Montoya, one of United Neighborhood’s co-founders.

The activists said that while they have nothing to hide, they were bothered by the nature of the file. Some of the news articles included personal details such as marital status and educational history.

“What concerns me is that when you complain to the police, they investigate you,” said Francisco Ceja, vice president of United Neighborhood. “That’s why you don’t get many police complaints. People are afraid.”