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Gente Organizada delivered a cease and desist order to the council regarding Pomona PD’s tactics that the organization believes targets black and brown youth of the city.
Transcript
ANTHONY SOLORZANO: A group of Pomona residents gathered outside of City Council chambers. They held signs that read, “Stop Targeted Violence against our youth.” The watchdog organization, Gente Organizada delivered a cease and desist order to the council regarding Pomona PD’s tactics. According to civil rights lawyer, Jaime Gutierez, cops are showing up to neighborhoods in unmarked cars wearing civilian clothes and instigating gun battles in different parts of the city.
JAIME GUTIEREZ: Well, I’m here to give a cease and desist notice to the city of Pomona and the Pomona Police Department to start respecting the law and practicing the law in keeping their cameras on and not instigating gun battles in different parts of the city. In particular, we want them to start practicing the operating policies of the police department special policy 424, which states that an officer must ensure that portable recorders remain on continuously. They’ve been turning them off and the policy directly violated, was directly violated by Officer Jose Diaz. The officer involved in the shooting in the Angela Chancellor neighborhood [on] February 3rd 2022. And also according to California Bill 748 police departments must release body camera footage of critical incidents. And when the city was asked for the video [at] the April 19th Oversight Commission meeting, the police chief Michael Ellis said that the video didn’t exist, meaning the officer’s camera was off.
HOST: Members of the organization read the order during public comment. One of the readers came from a mother and a citizen of Pomona, Karen Cerecerez who is worried for her children.
KAREN CERECEREZ: Because I’m a mother. I’m a resident of Pomona, I’m paying my taxes, like everyone. There’s been several instances where the Pomona PD is not responding to certain crimes. So it’s very frustrating to see them rush over to like people who are just speaking out against, like political issues. I hope that it starts to like, kind of bring awareness or like let the department know that there are people within our community who like, care what’s happening and the policing, the over policing and the type of policing that’s happening, the lack of like attention that the violent crimes are getting verses like the non violent, you know, and I think that’s a huge problem in the city of Pomona and essentially we’re paying for it
HOST: During the meeting on April 8th, Mayor Tim Sandoval addressed the order at the end of public comment.
TIM SANDOVAL: And just on the cease and desist order. I just wanna make sure that we provide a response to the cease and desist letter. I know that there have been efforts to work with Gente and other organizations to improve our working relationship. We were able to craft a pre-arrest youth diversion program together. We were able to sit down and actually go over, I think 14 or 15 or 20 points, that you had raised in your report about the question of Black and Brown arrest. We made some progress there. I just wanna make sure that we capture that in our response letter. So as to not suggest that there hasn’t been any conversation, that’s ever happened between us and the organization and other organizations. As a starting point for moving forward and figuring out how to we continue to hopefully improve our relations.
HOST: Sandoval declined to further comment on the cease and desist order until the city council reads it. Reporting for SAC Media, this is Anthony Solorzano.
