Can someone explain to the Community of Gilroy and me why the Gilroy Police Department does not have an independent Internal Affairs Office that is not run solely by Chief Denise J. Turner? That seems to be like having the fox watching over the hen house and may be ripe for scandal and lawlessness. The U.S. Attorney General and even our own President have called for major overhauls of the police departments across our country. Police dispatcher explained that the reason is that they (GPD) were a small department. I find this very disturbing given that the Police Department consumes 45 percent ($54 million) of all revenue collected ($120 million) by the City of Gilroy.
Red Phone:
Thank you, good caller, for bringing your concern about the Gilroy Police Internal Affairs Office to Red Phone’s attention. Red Phone is more than happy to investigate Gilroy’s approach to suspicions of officer misconduct and criminal actions. Red Phone spoke to Gilroy Police Officer Royce Heath who is the Administrative Sergeant who handles internal affairs investigations as his highest priority.
Sgt. Heath understands people’s concerns about internal police investigations. He said, “The perception is that we are going to wash over it, and that the police protects their own.” After speaking to Sgt. Heath, Red Phone has come to the conclusion that nothing could be further from the truth.
First of all, Sgt. Heath said, “Chief Denise Turner does not run the internal affairs investigations.” In fact, Sgt. Heath is in charge of running these investigations. Having the rank of Sergeant, Sgt. Heath investigates officers below his rank and civilian employees. A City appointed attorney investigates higher-ranking officers. What makes Gilroy’s approach to internal affairs investigations work is its process, which has worked well. For example, in 2015, there has been only one Internal Affairs investigation, which is ongoing. In 2014, there were less than ten.
As reported last year in the Dispatch, Gilroy police have been using body cameras for several years, ahead of the national trend, which has helped reduce the number of complaints. For example, Sgt. Heath told the story of a woman who accused a police officer of misconduct. The body camera recording proved the complaint false, which resulted in the woman being charged with filing a false complaint.
According to Sgt. Heath, complaints can be filed against police officers and civilian employees. A complaint form needs to be filed to begin the process and it can be generated internally or externally. For example, a citizen files a complaint against an officer; this would be an externally generated request for investigation. Or, a citizen speaks to a police department supervisor but does not want to file an investigation request. If the supervisor thinks that an internal investigation is warranted, he or she may file a request for investigation; this would be an internally generated request.
Once the complaint is filed, Sgt. Heath or a city-appointed attorney would begin the investigation depending on the circumstances. Whether there is suspicion of a violation of law or policy, an internal investigation will proceed. If the findings show the law was broken, the organization that has jurisdiction over the incident would perform the criminal investigation in parallel with Gilroy’s internal investigation. For example, if a Gilroy police officer violates a law in San Jose, Gilroy would proceed with an internal affairs investigation concerning the violation of its policies, while the San Jose Police Department would perform the criminal investigation.
During the internal investigation, the investigators observe the rights of the person being investigated. Confidential information remains confidential; only findings are made available to the complainant.
At the conclusion of the internal investigation, the findings are included in a report, which is reviewed by the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police is responsible for determining disciplinary action if a policy has been violated.
So, good caller, Gilroy PD has a process for internal investigations that is run by the Administrative Sergeant. The Chief of Police determines disciplinary action. It appears to be working!
