Coalition For Justice February 19, 2007
Coalition For Justice
Minutes
February 19, 2007
The meeting was called to order at 6:08 p.m.
Individuals present introduced themselves. (Please see Dee Sanford for Sign-in sheet)
We were opened in prayer by Beverly Hudson.
The agenda was approved by silent assent.
Notes from the previous meeting with District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis were distributed.
Additional comments on these notes included noting that, of the 148 officer involved shootings, two were prosecuted. One of those was dropped and the other was acquitted after the jury deliberated for ten minutes.
The issue of officers being “on duty 24/7” was clarified.
The question was raised as to whether the Coalition should have additional conversations with the D.A.?
It was determined that Coalition will send a letter to the D.A. inviting her to a quarterly meeting sponsored by the Coalition.
We will advise her of the Coalition’s concerns/questions prior to the meetings.
Such questions and concerns should be forwarded to Art Cribbs by e-mail in a timely manner (artcribbs@aol.com) or to a person assigned to liaison with the DA’s office.
Review of Recent Actions
Letter and Petitions to Attorney General
There are three letters pertaining to the A.G. (Please see Art Cribbs for copies of the letters.)
As promised to the D.A., within 48 hour of our meeting with her, we began to move forward on the issue of an independent investigation. A letter was delivered to Jerry Brown, Attorney General for California, on February 7th, 2007, at the San Diego office of the A.G., along with petitions gathered by the Coalition, and a letter from El Grupo calling for an independent investigation.
Attorney General’s Response
We received a response from the Attorney General’s office on February 14th, 2007, that basically said the matter would be handled by the San Diego office, and that they declined our request for an independent investigation, but that there would be a process of evaluating and reviewing the District Attorney’s decisions regarding five of the seven shootings in San Diego County. The A.G has included the Civil Rights Enforcement Section of the A.G.’s office in Los Angeles in the review.
El Grupo sent another letter to the A.G.’s office on February 19th, 2007, continuing to press for an independent investigation on the five closed Vista shootings.
There was discussion about a timeline for anticipated action and the capacity of the Attorney General’s office to muster the resources necessary to actually perform investigations of officer involved shootings statewide. There was also input regarding the value and capacity of the officer’s own agency to conduct such an investigation. It was suggested that the issues may need to be addressed through the legislative process.
Next Steps
We need to continue to press for an independent investigation.
It was determined that we would refer the issue of how we proceed from here to our law committee
Call for Uniform Protocol
Association of Chiefs and Sheriff developed terms.
We received an e-mail from the San Diego Chief of Police indicating that the San Diego County Association of Chiefs and Sheriff has signed off on the Uniform Protocol and has forwarded them to their attorneys.
Proposed Protocol Under Review by Attorneys.
The Chief also indicated that when the Protocol comes back from the attorneys he will bring the Protocol to The Coalition for final sign off and then take it to the public. This looks like a victory for the Coalition for Justice.
Joint Press Conference Bring Considered.
Next Public Action: Forum on Citizen Public Conduct
We have several samples of expectations for how citizens should respond to contact with a peace officer: One from the ACLU, one from the San Diego Police Department, and some research was done on the internet.
We discussed three scenarios:
If you are stopped by an officer in uniform, in a marked car, in a public place, you are required to pull over and cooperate with the officer.
If you are stopped by an officer in uniform, in a marked car, in an isolated place, you are required to pull over and cooperate with the officer. Pull to a place that is public and has witnesses.
If someone attempts to pull you over and they have no identification, go to a public place where there are witnesses and call 911.
What we don’t know:
What are the current protocols for 911 operators?
What do the police expect us to do?
There was discussion regarding the role of citizens in public. Part of what we want to focus on in the forum is pubic politeness, especially in traffic. Also, how do we identify a private vehicle that is in an emergency situation?
Dee Sanford offered her television show as an option for dissemination of this type of information. This could be done as a panel. This could also be used to produce a recorded item for distribution.
It was suggested that the District Attorney’s office could approached to assist with financing, producing, and distributing a clear message in a media campaign.
It was also suggested that there needs to be a multi-faceted approach to dissemination of the information.
Future Leadership
It was suggested that this item become the first item on the agenda for the next meeting, and that it take priority at that meeting. This was accepted by consensus.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:43 p.m.
Recorded and Submitted by Clovis Honore`
Reviewed by Art Cribbs
Minutes
February 19, 2007
The meeting was called to order at 6:08 p.m.
Individuals present introduced themselves. (Please see Dee Sanford for Sign-in sheet)
We were opened in prayer by Beverly Hudson.
The agenda was approved by silent assent.
Notes from the previous meeting with District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis were distributed.
Additional comments on these notes included noting that, of the 148 officer involved shootings, two were prosecuted. One of those was dropped and the other was acquitted after the jury deliberated for ten minutes.
The issue of officers being “on duty 24/7” was clarified.
The question was raised as to whether the Coalition should have additional conversations with the D.A.?
It was determined that Coalition will send a letter to the D.A. inviting her to a quarterly meeting sponsored by the Coalition.
We will advise her of the Coalition’s concerns/questions prior to the meetings.
Such questions and concerns should be forwarded to Art Cribbs by e-mail in a timely manner (artcribbs@aol.com) or to a person assigned to liaison with the DA’s office.
Review of Recent Actions
Letter and Petitions to Attorney General
There are three letters pertaining to the A.G. (Please see Art Cribbs for copies of the letters.)
As promised to the D.A., within 48 hour of our meeting with her, we began to move forward on the issue of an independent investigation. A letter was delivered to Jerry Brown, Attorney General for California, on February 7th, 2007, at the San Diego office of the A.G., along with petitions gathered by the Coalition, and a letter from El Grupo calling for an independent investigation.
Attorney General’s Response
We received a response from the Attorney General’s office on February 14th, 2007, that basically said the matter would be handled by the San Diego office, and that they declined our request for an independent investigation, but that there would be a process of evaluating and reviewing the District Attorney’s decisions regarding five of the seven shootings in San Diego County. The A.G has included the Civil Rights Enforcement Section of the A.G.’s office in Los Angeles in the review.
El Grupo sent another letter to the A.G.’s office on February 19th, 2007, continuing to press for an independent investigation on the five closed Vista shootings.
There was discussion about a timeline for anticipated action and the capacity of the Attorney General’s office to muster the resources necessary to actually perform investigations of officer involved shootings statewide. There was also input regarding the value and capacity of the officer’s own agency to conduct such an investigation. It was suggested that the issues may need to be addressed through the legislative process.
Next Steps
We need to continue to press for an independent investigation.
It was determined that we would refer the issue of how we proceed from here to our law committee
Call for Uniform Protocol
Association of Chiefs and Sheriff developed terms.
We received an e-mail from the San Diego Chief of Police indicating that the San Diego County Association of Chiefs and Sheriff has signed off on the Uniform Protocol and has forwarded them to their attorneys.
Proposed Protocol Under Review by Attorneys.
The Chief also indicated that when the Protocol comes back from the attorneys he will bring the Protocol to The Coalition for final sign off and then take it to the public. This looks like a victory for the Coalition for Justice.
Joint Press Conference Bring Considered.
Next Public Action: Forum on Citizen Public Conduct
We have several samples of expectations for how citizens should respond to contact with a peace officer: One from the ACLU, one from the San Diego Police Department, and some research was done on the internet.
We discussed three scenarios:
If you are stopped by an officer in uniform, in a marked car, in a public place, you are required to pull over and cooperate with the officer.
If you are stopped by an officer in uniform, in a marked car, in an isolated place, you are required to pull over and cooperate with the officer. Pull to a place that is public and has witnesses.
If someone attempts to pull you over and they have no identification, go to a public place where there are witnesses and call 911.
What we don’t know:
What are the current protocols for 911 operators?
What do the police expect us to do?
There was discussion regarding the role of citizens in public. Part of what we want to focus on in the forum is pubic politeness, especially in traffic. Also, how do we identify a private vehicle that is in an emergency situation?
Dee Sanford offered her television show as an option for dissemination of this type of information. This could be done as a panel. This could also be used to produce a recorded item for distribution.
It was suggested that the District Attorney’s office could approached to assist with financing, producing, and distributing a clear message in a media campaign.
It was also suggested that there needs to be a multi-faceted approach to dissemination of the information.
Future Leadership
It was suggested that this item become the first item on the agenda for the next meeting, and that it take priority at that meeting. This was accepted by consensus.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:43 p.m.
Recorded and Submitted by Clovis Honore`
Reviewed by Art Cribbs
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